Main and back-up crews of ISS-40/41 mission started passing exams. After examination session the cosmonauts and astronauts will have examinational trainings concluding their preflight preparations in Star City.

The main crew comprises Roscosmos cosmonauts Maksim Surayev, NASA atrpnaut Reid Wiseman and ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst. The back-up crew consists of Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and NASA astronaut Terry Virts.

Back-up crew members were the first to pass their exams. Anton Shkaplerov and Samantha Cristoforetti passed their examinational training on “Teleoperator” simulator. In the framework of this training they practiced manual approaching and docking with unmanned vehicles, cargo vehicle in particular. Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft commander Maksim Surayev passed the same training either.  Examination Commission gave a high estimate to the cosmonauts’ actions.

Then Anton Shkaplerov and Samantha Cristoforetti passed an exam on TS-18 simulator. With the help of this simulator designed on the basis of TsF-18 Centrifuge the cosmonauts practice manual controlled descent.  The task is to bring the descent module to the estimated landing point with maximum accuracy and without exceeding acceptable g-loads.

The control is exercised on the basis of two graphs showing the velocity gained dependence on estimated and real time. The graphs are plotted on control board on a real time basis. Following the results of the training the commission concluded that the crew coped with the tasks set.

Maksim Surayev is going to have the training on TF-18 simulator next week. In the short term he and Read Wiseman will practice Soyuz TMA-M approach and redocking with the ISS. Besides both crews will have “standard flight day” training of ISS Russian segment this week.

On May 6 and 7 the crews will start complex examinational trainings.

Image credit: GCTC