Off Soyuz spacecraft with three astronauts heading to the ISS – ABC Color

Baikonur. A Russian Soyuz spacecraft with the first Danish astronaut on board, along with a Russian and a Kazakh, took off Wednesday from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, heading for the International Space Station (ISS).

The Soyuz TMA-18M lifted off from Baikonur at 04:37 GMT carrying on board Danish Andreas Mogensen Russian Serguei Volkov and Kazakh Aidin Aimbetov .

“After 528 seconds of flight, the inhabited Soyuz spacecraft successfully separated from the shuttle,” said the Russian space agency Roscosmos in a statement.

The three astronauts are scheduled to arrive at the ISS on Friday at 06:42 GMT, having spent over 48 hours on board the ship.

Usually Soyuz take six hours to reach the ISS, but in late July, the station was forced to change its orbit to avoid space debris, forcing a change in the flight plan of the ship.

“We will collaborate in European, Russian and Kazakh scientific programs. In total, are scheduled 75 scientific experiments and will continue studies already started, “he said at a press conference Volkov, commander of this flight.

Andreas Mogensen, who represents the European Space Agency (ESA ) on this flight, it has become the first Dane in space. “We must conquer new planets, dream of it. I am convinced that we will succeed, “he told a press conference on the eve of his departure.

The crew of the Soyuz will join the six astronauts already on the ISS. It will be the first time since 2013 that nine people cohabit in the season.

The British singer Sarah Brightman was to leave on this flight and become the first space tourist in six years, but last May announced it had given up the idea for “family reasons”. It was replaced by Aimbetov, 42, who made his first space flight.

Andreas Mogensen and Aidin Aimbetov only be eight days on the ISS, and his return is scheduled on September 12 in the company of veteran Russian Gennady Padalka , which is already on board and in June became the man who spent more time in space.

Returning to earth, Padalka will have spent in total 878 days in space, ie two and four months to five space flights. For its part Sergei Volkov will return in March 2016, while Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and US astronaut Scott Kelly . Both have spent 342 days aboard the ISS, the longest uninterrupted period in the station since it is able to accommodate passengers.

This is the first launch of a Soyuz spacecraft since July 23. Then came three astronauts to the ISS despite failure of a solar captor ship, whose flight had been delayed for two months after the dramatic loss of a Progress cargo ship in April.

Russia supplies the EEI its main module, where rocket engines, and the Russian Soyuz are located are the only way out and repatriate station crew, after the United States ended its service.

Sixteen countries participating in the ISS, one lab station into orbit in 1998 with a total cost of 100,000 million, funded mainly by Russia and the United States.