New Crew Launching to Space Station Today on Direct Ascent Approach – UPDATE
UPDATE 2, March 28, 10:30 pm ET: Contact and capture confirmed at 10:28 pm ET. Soyuz TMA-08M has arrived at the ISS.
UPDATE, March 28, 4:45 pm ET: Launch was on time at 4:43 pm ET (2:23 am March 29 local time at the launch site in Kazakhstan).
ORIGINAL STORY: The Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft is on schedule for launch at 4:43 pm ET this afternoon, March 28, 2013. The three-man crew will be the first to make a direct-ascent approach to the International Space Station (ISS), docking just 6 hours instead of 2 days after launch.
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin are aboard the spacecraft and awaiting launch in less than 15 minutes. Docking is scheduled for 10:32 pm ET with the hatches between the ISS and Soyuz opening at 12:10 am ET tomorrow.
Check back here for updates as the day progresses. NASA TV will air coverage of the events.
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