Soyuz MS-18 (spacecraft named"Y. A. Gagarin") was aSoyuz spaceflight that was launched on 9 April 2021 at 07:42:41UTC.[4][7] It transported three members of theExpedition 64 crew to theInternational Space Station (ISS). Soyuz MS-18 was the 146th crewed flight of a Soyuz spacecraft. The launching crew consisted of a Russian commander, a Russian flight engineer, and an American flight engineer ofNASA.[8][9][10][11] The spacecraft returned toEarth on 17 October 2021 following 191 days in space.[12] The flight served as the landing vehicle for the Russian film directorKlim Shipenko and actressYulia Peresild who launched to the ISS aboardSoyuz MS-19 and spent twelve days in space in order to film a movie,Vyzov (Russian:Вызов,lit. 'The Challenge').[13][14][15]
On 9 March 2021, Roscosmos announced that, at NASA's request, they would alter the existing flight plan to includeMark Vande Hei instead ofSergei Korsakov in the main crew andAnne McClain instead ofDmitriy Petelin in the backup one effectively extending NASA astronauts' flights on Soyuz spacecraft for at least another flight.[16][17] This arrangement was an in-kind service for the supplemental crew transportation service between NASA and Roscosmos, without any financial exchange between the two agencies.[18][19]
Artist's impression of theERA attached to theNauka module (left). The spare joint is attached to theRassvet module (right).
The Soyuz MS-18 crew arrived at ISS on 9 April 2021, well ahead of the launch and docking ofNauka module launching on aProton-M launch vehicle on 21 July 2021 that carried a portion of theEuropean Robotic Arm (ERA). A spacewalk was undertaken byExpedition 65 (Soyuz MS-18 crew members) to prepare the ISS Russian Segment forNauka and ERA installation in the summer of 2021.[20][21] Two other spacewalks for outfittingNauka were also conducted by Soyuz MS-18 crew members.
ISS russian orbital segment after docking of UMPrichal module
TheUM Prichal module launched to the International Space Station on 24 November 2021 withProgress M-UM. One port onPrichal is equipped with an active hybrid docking port, which enables docking with theNauka module. The remaining five ports are passive hybrids, enabling docking of Soyuz and Progress vehicles, as well as heavier modules and future spacecraft with modified docking systems.[22]
On 15 October 2021, at 09:02 UTC, during preparation of the ship's propulsion system for landing, the Soyuz MS-18 inadvertently fired its thrusters beyond its planned time, which resulted in changing the orientation of the ISS by as much as 57°, at 09:13 UTC. The station's attitude control system then counteracted that motion by activating thrusters of the Russian Segment. The erroneous firing of Soyuz engines was the result of a procedural error in the instructions sent by mission control to Oleg Novitsky ahead of the test. Fortunately, the flight control system aboard the Soyuz spacecraft had a limit set for the engine testing, which generated a cutoff command as soon as the firing consumed all the propellant allocated for the test. As a result, all the propellant reserves aboard the spacecraft needed for landing remained untouched. The crew was not in danger and it was the second such incident since the loss of control ofNauka on 29 July 2021.[23][24]
The director and actress returned to Earth on 17 October 2021 on Soyuz MS-18 with commander Oleg Novitsky. Cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov and astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who arrived at the ISS on Soyuz MS-18, joined Shkaplerov on the landing of Soyuz MS-19.[25]
^Zak, Anatoly (13 March 2021)."Planned Russian orbital launches in 2021". RussianSpaceWeb.com.Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved14 March 2021.A Soyuz-2-1a rocket to launch the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft (Vehicle No. 748, ISS mission 64S)...
^Pearlman, Robert (23 March 2021)."Russia's next space station-bound Soyuz named for first cosmonaut". collectSPACE.Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved27 March 2021.Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov, together with NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, are set to lift off to the International Space Station on Russia's Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft, which has been named the "Y.A. Gagarin"
^abBecker, Joachim Wilhelm Josef."Soyuz MS-18". Space Facts.Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved24 March 2021.International Flight No. 321; Soyuz MS-18; Kazbek
^abBaylor, Michael (1 April 2020)."Status – Soyuz MS-18". Next Spaceflight. Retrieved13 October 2020.
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).