On Sunday, three astronauts will be launching into space via a Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan and head to the International Space Station. NASA’s Terry Virts, ESA’s Samantha Cristoforetti, and RSA’s Anton Shkaplerov will join Barry Wilmore, Aleksandr Samokutyayev, and Yelena Serova for Expedition 42. The trio will remain onboard through Expedition 43, where Virts will act as ISS Commander.
Virts previously piloted the Space Shuttle Endeavor on STS-130 and was lead astronaut of the T-38 program. Cristoforetti will be experiencing her first spaceflight, and she will prepare for a long duration mission of 6-7 months in space. This will be the second spaceflight for Shkaplerov, who previously served during Expeditions 29/30.
During their tenure in space, the crew will perform over 240 scientific experiments and oversee the safety and maintenance of the ISS.
NASA will be broadcasting the launch live, and you can tune in right here. The broadcast will begin at 3:00 pm EST, and liftoff is set for 4:01 pm EST.
Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
