The final countdown: Inside the pre-launch protocols for Expedition 50-51
In short: Before astronauts board a spacecraft, they must pass a rigorous final evaluation. This video captures the high-stakes transition from training to reality as the crew meets with officials and the press in Kazakhstan.
On November 16, the Expedition 50-51 crew—including Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy, NASA Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson, and ESA Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet—presented themselves before the Russian State Commission. This meeting served as the final hurdle for official approval before their launch on November 18 in a Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft. The mission was scheduled for five months aboard the International Space Station.
The footage provides a rare look at the atmosphere of the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, where the crew and their backups faced a final prelaunch news conference. It highlights the international cooperation between Roscosmos, NASA, and the ESA as they prepared for a mission that would eventually see the crew spend 196 days in orbit.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Expedition 50-51 Crew Meets Officials, Reporters as Launch Approaches
- Also: Expedition 51 News Releases - NASA
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