Three cosmonauts are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) amid high tensions over the Ukraine conflict between Russia and the West.
On Friday, Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveyev, and Sergei Korsakov will launch from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft.
An all-Russian crew will go to the ISS for the first flight in years. The flight time to the human outpost is estimated to be a little under three hours.
Two Russians, four Americans, and one German are working on the ISS right now, 7News said.
Astronaut James H. Newman, waves at camera as he holds onto one of the hand rails on the Unity connecting module during the early stages of a 7-hour, 21-minute spacewalk spent connecting 40 cables and connectors runing 76 feet from the Zarya control module to the Unity module, the first sections of the International Space Station December 8, 1998.
Russia to Make Quick Trip To ISS on Friday
Space.com said that the Russian trio will make a short voyage to the orbiting laboratory.
Their Soyuz spacecraft is set to dock with the station's Prichal module at 3:05 p.m. EDT on Friday, barely three hours after launch.
Those fans may want to watch the historic event live at 2:15 p.m. EDT. You may also watch a hatch opening ceremony, which begins at approximately 5:30 p.m. EDT.
Over the years, Russia has launched a slew of Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station.
Still, Friday's mission is anything but routine.
It will be Russia's first launch since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, a move that has strained several of Russia's space ties.
The station is set to welcome three new crewmates on Friday. Meanwhile, the Exp 66 crew focused on life science today following Tuesday’s spacewalk. https://t.co/5mXZUm7mRV
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) March 17, 2022
Following the invasion, the US and other nations placed fresh economic sanctions on Russia, some of which impacted the country's space program.
As a result, among other things, Russia's state space agency, Roscosmos, has banned supplying Russian rocket engines to American companies and suspended Soyuz launches from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
Are ISS Cosmonauts "In a Fighting Mood"?
Meanwhile, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin voiced his delight at the prospect of transporting the second cosmonaut team to the International Space Station today.
"The State Commission at Baikonur approved the main and backup crews of the Soyuz MS-21 manned spacecraft," Rogozin tweeted in Russian. "The boys are in a fighting mood."
Rogozin's statements, according to Futurism, may have been selected to inflame tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its consequences for the international space community.
In reaction to nations placing sanctions on Russia and Roscosmos, Rogozin has made several provocative remarks.
He even went so far as to endanger the safety of astronauts onboard the International Space Station, alerting the US of a "500-ton structure" that was falling apart.
According to NASA and the European Space Agency, operations onboard the International Space Station continue untouched by the geopolitical situation unfolding on the ground below.
It's hard to respond precisely to what Rogozin meant by his most recent comments by seeing straight into his head.
But that wouldn't be the strangest thing he ever said if he truly wanted to advocate for space warfare.
RELATED ARTICLE : NASA Astronaut Mark Vande Hei to Come Home From ISS After Roscosmos 'Jokingly' Threatened American Crew
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