SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS006   
   ARLS006 Two Radio Amateurs Set to Head for the International Space Station   
      
   ZCZC AS06   
   QST de W1AW   
   Space Bulletin 006  ARLS006   
   > From ARRL Headquarters   
   Newington, CT  July 5, 2016   
   To all radio amateurs   
      
   SB SPACE ARL ARLS006   
   ARLS006 Two Radio Amateurs Set to Head for the International Space Station   
      
   Two Amateur Radio licensees are part of the International Space Station (ISS)   
   crew increment bound for the orbiting outpost this week. NASA astronaut Kate   
   Rubins, KG5FYJ, astronaut Takuya Onishi,   
   KF5LKS, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and cosmonaut   
   Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos will launch early on July 7 (0136 UTC) from the   
   Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The trio will spend approximately 4 months   
   on station and will return to Earth in October.   
      
   An upgraded Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft will carry Rubins, Onishi, and Ivanishin   
   into space. They will test modified systems for 2 days - 34 Earth orbits -   
   before docking with the ISS on July 9. According to NASA, the modified Soyuz   
   is equipped with upgraded thrusters that are fully redundant, additional   
   micrometeoroid debris shielding, redundant electrical motors for the Soyuz   
   docking probe, and increased power with more photovoltaic cells on the   
   spacecraft's solar arrays. This week's launch will mark the first of at least   
   two missions in which enhanced Soyuz hardware will be tested and verified.   
      
   Once the hatches between the Soyuz and the ISS have been opened, Expedition 48   
   Commander Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ, of NASA, and Flight Engineers Oleg   
   Skripochka, RN3FU, and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos will greet their new   
   crewmates.   
      
   The Expedition 48 crew members will continue experiments in biology,   
   biotechnology, physical science, and Earth science.   
      
   Rubins, Onishi, and cosmonaut Ivanishin will replace Expedition 47 Commander   
   Tim Kopra, KE5UDN; Flight Engineer Tim Peake, KG5BVI/GB1SS, and Yuri   
   Malenchenko, RK3DUP, who returned to Earth in mid-June after a little more   
   than 6 months in space.   
      
   NASA TV will cover the launch and the arrival online at, http://   
   ww.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public .   
      
   NNNN   
   /EX   
      
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   Always Mount a Scratch Monkey   
      
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