DOCKING OF SOYUZ MS-14 AT ISS, Aug 26, 2019, Earth orbit, 11:12 pm EDT (NASA TV begins 10:30 pm ET)

Update, August 26:  The operations were all successful.

Update, August 25:  NASA and Roscosmos have refined the plan.  Soyuz MS-14 now will be brought into a different docking port (Zvezda) where the KURS automated system is working properly.  Another spacecraft, Soyuz MS-13, is currently docked there so on Sunday, Aug. 25, the Soyuz MS-13 crew will get into the spacecraft and move it to the Poisk docking port where Soyuz MS-14 was intended to dock.  With a crew aboard, they can execute a manual docking that does not require KURS.  Soyuz MS-14 then will dock at Zvezda a day later.

The Soyuz MS-13 crew (Skvortsov, Morgan, Parmitano) will undock from the Zvezda port Sunday night at 11:34 pm EDT and redock at Poisk 25 minutes later at 11:59 pm ET.  NASA TV coverage begins at 11:00 pm EDT.

On Monday, August 26, at 11:12 pm EDT (6:12 am Tuesday, Moscow Time), Soyuz MS-14 will dock at the Zvezda port.  NASA TV coverage begins 10:30 pm EDT.

Update, August 24:  The launch took place as scheduled, but the docking had to be aborted on August 24 because of the failure of a power amplifier in the KURS system on the ISS.  Another attempt will be made on Tuesday, August 27.  The  specific time has not been announced, but TASS quoted an official as saying it would be “about 8-9 am Moscow Time,” which would be 1:00-2:00 am EDT, the same time period when the docking was first attempted.

Original entry.  Russia will launch an uncrewed test flight of a Soyuz spacecraft on the Soyuz 2.1a rocket at 9:38 am local time at the launch site on August 22, 2019.  That is August 21, 11:38 pm EDT and NASA TV coverage begins 11:15 pm EDT.

The mission is designated Soyuz MS-14 and will fly to and dock with the International Space Station, but no one will be aboard.  Instead it will be loaded with cargo for delivery to ISS, and a robot, Fyodor, that will ride the capsule back to landing on Earth.

Docking is scheduled for August 24, 1:30 am EDT (NASA TV coverage begins 12:45 am EDT)

Its purpose is to test a new launch abort system integrated into the Soyuz 2.1a rocket.  Crewed Soyuz spacecraft have been launched with a different version of the Soyuz rocket, Soyuz FG, until now.  Its launch abort system activated as planned during the Soyuz MS-10 mission and the crew safely descended to Earth unharmed.

Soyuz MS-14 will also test an updated navigation and propulsion system for docking with ISS.

Russia typically conducts uncrewed test flights of new systems before introducing major changes to its human spaceflight program.

Learn more about Soyuz MS-14 on RussianSpaceWeb.com.