In an exciting moment for space exploration, NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson has successfully launched to the International Space Station (ISS) alongside her crewmates from Roscosmos and Belarus. The Soyuz rocket carrying the Expedition 71 crew took off on Saturday, March 23, 2024, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The crew includes cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy from Roscosmos and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya from Belarus. Their destination is the ISS's Prichal module, where they are scheduled to dock at approximately 11:09 a.m. on Monday, March 25, using the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft.

NASA will be providing comprehensive coverage of the historic docking, beginning at 10:15 a.m., through various online platforms including NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency's official website. Furthermore, a crew welcome ceremony will be broadcasted on NASA+ at 1:15 p.m.

Once the hatches between the station and the Soyuz are opened at around 1:40 p.m., Dyson, Novitskiy, and Vasilevskaya will join the current ISS crew members: NASA astronauts Loral O'Hara, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Alexander Grebenkin.

Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya will spend 12 days aboard the space station before providing a ride home for O'Hara on Saturday, April 6, aboard Soyuz MS-24. O'Hara's return will be a parachute-assisted landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan. On the other hand, Dyson will remain onboard the ISS for the next six months as an Expedition 70 and 71 flight engineer. Her return to Earth is expected in September, alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, who will have completed a year-long mission on the laboratory.

This mission marks Dyson's third spaceflight, Novitskiy's fourth, and Vasilevskaya's first. Their joint efforts will contribute to scientific research, space exploration, and the continued success of the ISS.

For more information on the activities taking place aboard the International Space Station, interested individuals can visit NASA's website and explore the various streaming platforms available to access NASA TV.