A “vanilla” (no Fregat upper stage) Soyuz 2-1a rocket was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, near Tyuratam in Kazakhstan at 0738 GMT on 8 December 2021. The rocket carried the Soyuz MS-20 crewed spacecraft on its way to docking with the International Space Station (ISS). The launch is primarily a “space tourism” flight. While professional cosmonaut Aleksander Misurkin commanded the mission, also aboard were two orbital space tourists: Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and his personal assistant Yozo Hirano ready for a 12-day stay aboard the ISS.
On 8 December 2021 at 1340 GMT, just six hours after launch, Soyuz MS-20 successfully docked automatically with the Poisk module of the ISS.
Update on 22 December 2021: Carrying Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and space tourists Maezawa and Hirano, Soyuz MS-20 undocked from the Poisk module at 2350 GMT on 19 December 2021. After re-entry Soyuz MS-20 touched down as planned 148 km south-east of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 0313 GMT. Recovery teams raced to the landing site and extracted the crew members around 0350 GMT. The full story of the undocking, re-entry and landing is here.
Soyuz 2-1a carrying Soyuz MS-20 launches from a snowy Baikonur Cosmodrome. Courtesy: Roscosmos
