How to view the NASA astronaut's quick ascent to the ISS on Wednesday
On Wednesday, American astronaut Frank Rubio will make a quick voyage of approximately three and a half hours to the International Space Station (ISS).
The California-born astronaut will launch on a Russian Soyuz 2.1a rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for his maiden voyage into orbit. Along with Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, Rubio will launch into orbit on the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft.
The journey to the ISS will take a bit longer than the quickest travel from Earth to the ISS, which took just three hours and three minutes during a mission in October 2020 that also included a Soyuz spacecraft.
Rubio, Prokopyev, and Petelin will spend the next six months living and working on the orbiting outpost about 250 miles above Earth as members of the Expedition 68 team.
Speaking to reporters last month, Rubio stated that despite the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that had produced tensions on the international stage, he had not seen any problems with NASA's Russian partner, Roscosmos, and that he was getting along well with his two travelling companions.
"I think it's important that, when we're at moments of potential tension elsewhere, human spaceflight and exploration, something that both agencies are extremely passionate about, remains a form of diplomacy and partnership where we can find common ground and keep achieving great things together," the NASA astronaut said. "This mission represents the ongoing effort of tremendous teams on both sides and amazing people that make this happen."
How to see
On Wednesday, September 21, NASA's Frank Rubio will blast off towards the ISS at 9:54 a.m. ET (6:54 p.m. Baikonur time).
Using the video player at the top of this page or by going to NASA's website, which will host the same feed, you may watch a livestream of the launch and the first part of the journey. The coverage will start at 9:00 ET.
About three and a half hours after launch, NASA will webcast a live feed of the Soyuz spacecraft docking with the space station. The same video player may be used to see this as well.
