Russia to re-park Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft to new Nauka research lab in September

MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/. The Gagarin (Soyuz MS-18) manned spacecraft will undock from the Rassvet module in the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) and tie up with Russia’s new Nauka research lab on September 28, the federal space agency Roscosmos announced on Tuesday. "According to the preliminary data of the Flight Control Center’s Ballistic and Navigational Service of TsNIImash (part of Roscosmos), the spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the Rassvet module and dock with Nauka on September 28, 2021," the statement says. During the ‘reparking,’ the spacecraft will vacate the docking port for a Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft scheduled to blast off on October 5, Roscosmos said. The Soyuz MS-19 basic crew comprises cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, actress Yulia Peresild and film director Klim Shipenko while the backup crew consists of cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, actress Alyona Mordovina and cameraman Alexei Dudin. They will shoot the first-ever movie on the orbital outpost. The space drama tentatively titled Vyzov (Challenge) is a joint project of Roscosmos, TV Channel One and the film studio Yellow, Black and White. Read more