Image: NASA
ISS Expedition 48/49
Mission Profile
| Launch date | 2016-07-07 |
|---|---|
| Launch site | Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 1/5 (Gagarin's Start) |
| Launch vehicle | Soyuz-FG |
| Spacecraft | Soyuz MS-01 |
| Target | Low Earth Orbit |
| Type | Crewed |
| End date | 2016-10-30 |
| Duration | 115 days 2 hours |
| Partners | NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA |
Overview
Soyuz MS-01 was a milestone hardware flight as well as a crew rotation: it was the maiden voyage of the heavily upgraded Soyuz MS variant, with new solar arrays, satellite navigation and a redesigned approach system. Because everything was new, mission planners flew an unusually cautious two-day, 34-orbit rendezvous instead of the fast four-orbit profile. Aboard were commander Anatoly Ivanishin, NASA biologist Kate Rubins and JAXA's Takuya Onishi, all bound for Expeditions 48 and 49. Onishi, a former All Nippon Airways pilot on his first flight, supported a packed science programme — including Rubins's landmark first-ever DNA sequencing in space — and the berthing of cargo vehicles. The trio spent 115 days aloft before returning to the Kazakh steppe on 30 October 2016, having validated the spacecraft that would carry crews for years to come.
Crew
Anatoly Ivanishin
Soyuz MS-01 Commander (Roscosmos)
Second spaceflight
Takuya Onishi
JAXA Flight Engineer
First spaceflight
Kate Rubins
NASA Flight Engineer
First spaceflight; first DNA sequencing in space
Key Milestones
2016-07-07
Soyuz MS-01 launches on the maiden flight of the upgraded Soyuz MS spacecraft
2016-07-09
Spacecraft docks to the Rassvet module after a cautious two-day, 34-orbit rendezvous
2016-08-26
Kate Rubins performs the first-ever DNA sequencing in space during the increment
2016-10-30
Soyuz MS-01 lands in Kazakhstan after 115 days in orbit
Key Achievements
Maiden flight of the upgraded Soyuz MS spacecraft variant
Takuya Onishi's first spaceflight
Crewmate Kate Rubins performed the first DNA sequencing in space during the increment
