April 23, 2014
Categories: ESA, GCTC, ISS, NASA, Roscosmos, Russia, Soyuz

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

More from this category:
October 29, 2020

Russian cosmonauts working aboard the ISS Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov are going to perform a spacewalk on November 18, –  Roscosmos press office reports….

full story
July 31, 2020

On July 31, 2020 at 00:25:19 Moscow time, the Proton-M carrier rocket with the Briz-M upper stage and the Russian telecommunications spacecraft Express-103 was launched…

full story
June 8, 2019

After passing the theoretical examinations, the ISS-60/61 crews began practical tests on simulators. Today, the commanders of the main and backup crews of the “Soyuz…

full story
June 17, 2015

On Monday, June 15, NASA astronaut Peggy Witson training program was presented to GCTC.   Woman-astronaut will be passing trainings together with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky…

full story
March 21, 2020

We are glad to present our new program «Videoconference with a cosmonaut». Due to this videoconference you will see a real cosmonaut online and will…

full story
November 25, 2014

At Plesetsk spaceport Aerospace Defence troops are  preparing Soyuz-2.1b booster for Glonass-K new generation space device launch scheduled for December 1, 2014, – Russian Ministry…

full story
March 16, 2014

The day of March 15 started with flag-raising ceremony that has become a longstanding tradition symbolizing formal beginning of final stage of preflight preparation trainings….

full story
January 21, 2019

The meeting ceremony of the crew of the 55 / 56th long expedition to the ISS (Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, NASA astronauts Andrew Feustel and…

full story