Soyuz TMA-18M crew ready for launch (PHOTO)
On September 1 the commander of ISS 45/46 mission crew Sergey Volkov, onboard engineers - Danish cosmonaut Andreas Mogensen and Kazakhstani astronaut Aidyn Aimbetov - reported at least three times of their readiness for launch.
Sergey Volkov praised high level of preparedness of his colleagues and expressed confidence that the 500th jubilee launch of the carrier rocket from Gagarin's Start as well as flight and docking will go on schedule.
According to him, the research work at the ISS will be carried out as per Kazakhstani, Russian and European programs which include approximately 75 experiments. These are Russian experiment in solid state physics, Kazakhstani experiment "Coulomb crystal" and Danish research "Studying muscular atrophy in micro-gravity environment".
European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen said he was proud of being the first Danish cosmonaut and he had always dreamt of flying to space.
Kazakhstani Aimbetov said he would take a hand-made toy with him to the space. The toy is a present from his little daughter Dayana. His wife Liliya, son Amir and daughter were at the press conference as well. Besides, Aimbetov will take the state symbols of Kazakhstan too. Answering the journalists' questions, he told about the research he is going to do at the ISS.
The 45/46 crew members met also with Vice PM Berdybek Saparbayev who had arrived at Baikonur for watching the blast off of the space vehicle with Kazakhstani cosmonaut onboard.
The Vice PM greeted the crew members on behalf of the President of Kazakhstan and the Kazakh people. "Your father was the commander of Kazakhstan's first cosmonaut Toktar Aubakirov. You are continuing this tradition while training our cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov," Saparbayev said to Volkov.
He wished successful launch to the newcomers - Andreas Mogensen and Aidyn Aimbetov. The Soyuz-FG carrier rocket with the Soyuz TMA-18M manned spacecraft is to be launched at 10:37 Astana time on September 2. In two days after the blast-off, the ship will dock to the ISS. Mogensen and Aimbetov will return to the Earth September 12 together with Gennady Padalka, the current crew member of the ISS.