Soyuz MS-03

Crew

Peggy Whitson

Flight Engineer

Status: Retired
2/9/1960 -
Nationality: American
Type: Government
First Flight: 6/5/2002
Last Flight: 11/17/2016

Peggy Annette Whitson is an American biochemistry researcher, retired NASA astronaut, and former NASA Chief Astronaut. Her first space mission was in 2002, with an extended stay aboard the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 5. Her second mission launched October 10, 2007, as the first female commander of the ISS with Expedition 16. She was on her third long-duration space flight and was the commander of the International Space Station for Expedition 51, before handing over command to Fyodor Yurchikhin on June 1, 2017.

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.

Thomas Pesquet

Flight Engineer

Status: Active
2/27/1978 -
Nationality: French
Type: Government
First Flight: 11/17/2016
Last Flight: 11/17/2016

Thomas Gautier Pesquet is a French aerospace engineer, pilot, and European Space Agency astronaut. Pesquet was selected by ESA as a candidate in May 2009, and he successfully completed his basic training in November 2010. From November 2016 to June 2017, Pesquet was part of Expeditions 50 and 51 on the International Space Station as a flight engineer.

Mission

Soyuz MS-03

Type: Human Exploration

Soyuz MS-03 begins expedition 50 by carrying NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy to the International Space Station. After launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, they will rendezvous to the station where they will remain for their 6 month stay.

Location

1/5

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

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

Rocket

Soyuz

Length: 49.5 meters
Diameter: 3 meters
First Launch: May 20, 2001

The Soyuz FG rocket is an expendable launch vehicle most commonly known for carrying humans to the International Space Station today.

The Soyuz rocket has been launched a total of 60 times with 59 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.