A few hours ago, the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and, after a little more than three hours, reached the International Space Station with three new crew members on board. It docked with the Station’s Prichal module. The ultra-fast track was used, which halves the journey duration and is used whenever the Station’s position makes it possible.
The three new members of the crew of the International Space Station, who complete the last phase of Expedition 72, are:
Sergey Nikolayevich Ryzhikov. Born on August 19, 1974, in Bugulma, in the then USSR and today in the Russian Federation Republic of Tatarstan, is a graduate of Kacha Air Force School in 1996. After serving as a pilot and later as head of a fighter regiment, in 2006, he was selected as a cosmonaut candidate. He was already on the International Space Station as part of Expedition 49/50, which ended with his return to Earth on April 10, 2017, and Expedition 63/64, which ended with his return to Earth on April 17, 2021.
Alexey Vitalyevich Zubritsky. Born on August 22, 1992, in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, he earned a degree in Military Administration, Management of Aviation Units, and Flight Operation and Combat Use of Aircraft from the Ivan Kozhedub National University of the Air Force. He initially served in the Ukrainian Air Force in Crimea, but after the Russian invasion, he joined the Russian Armed Forces, again as a military pilot. In 2018, he was selected as a candidate cosmonaut by the Russian space agency Roscosmos. He’s on his first space mission.
Jonathan Yong “Jonny” Kim. Born on February 5, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, USA, he joined the Navy in 2002 and became a Navy SEAL. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of San Diego in 2012 and a doctorate in medicine from Harvard in 2016. In 2017, he was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA. He’s on his first space mission.
The three new crew members will spend about eight months on the International Space Station. In the coming days, Expedition 73 will begin, and the three crew members who are finishing their missions will return to Earth on the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft.
