Soyuz MS-18

Crew

Oleg Novitskiy

Commander

Status: Active
10/12/1971 -
Nationality: Russian
Type: Government
First Flight: 10/23/2012
Last Flight: 4/9/2021

Oleg Viktorovich Novitskiy, lieutenant colonel in the Russian Air Force, is a Russian cosmonaut.

Novitskiy was selected as a cosmonaut in 2006.Between February 2007 to July 2009 he completed basic spaceflight training and passed state exams with excellent grades. On August 1, 2009, he was qualified as a test-cosmonaut by the Interdepartmental Qualification Board, and between August 2009 to March 2010 he took the ISS advanced training course.

Pyotr Dubrov

Flight Engineer

Status: Active
1/30/1978 -
Nationality: Russian
Type: Government
First Flight: 4/9/2021
Last Flight: 4/9/2021

Dubrov was selected by Roscosmos as a cosmonaut on 8 October 2012, as one of eight cosmonauts selected as part of Roscosmos's 2012 selection group.
In 2020 he was assigned to the backup crew of Soyuz MS-17, backing up Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov as Flight Engineer on ISS Expedition 63/64

Mark T. Vande Hei

Flight Engineer

Status: Active
11/10/1966 -
Nationality: American
Type: Government
First Flight: 9/12/2017
Last Flight: 4/9/2021

Mark Thomas Vande Hei is a NASA astronaut who served as a flight Engineer for Expedition 53 and 54 on the International Space Station.

Mission

Soyuz MS-18

Type: Human Exploration

Soyuz MS-18 begins expedition 65 by carrying Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky, Pyotr Dubrov and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, they will rendezvous to the station where they will remain for their 6 month stay.

Location

31/6

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

468 rockets have launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan.

Rocket

Soyuz 2.1a

Length: 46.3 meters
Diameter: 2.95 meters
First Launch: November 4, 2004

The Soyuz 2.1A converted the flight control system from analog to digital, which allowed launch from fixed platforms. It also allowed big fairings and payloads.

The Soyuz 2.1a rocket has been launched a total of 24 times with 23 successful and 1 failed launches.

Agency

Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS)

Type: Government
Abbreviation: RFSA
Administration: Administrator: Dmitry Rogozin
Founded: 1992
Launchers: Soyuz
Spacecraft: Soyuz
Country: RUS

The Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, commonly known as Roscosmos, is the governmental body responsible for the space science program of the Russian Federation and general aerospace research. Soyuz has many launch locations the Russian sites are Baikonur, Plesetsk and Vostochny however Ariane also purchases the vehicle and launches it from French Guiana.