Happy birthday, cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin!

Alexander Misurkin, born September 23, 1977 in Russia, has been in space three times.  He is a major in the Russian Air Force.

His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-08M as flight engineer in March 2013, to the International Space Station.  He participated in Expeditions 35 and 36, returning to Earth in September, after more than 166 days in space.

His second trip was aboard Soyuz MS-06 as commander in September 2017, to the ISS.  He participated in Expeditions 53 and 54, returning to Earth in February 2018, after over 168 days in space.

His third trip was aboard Soyuz MS-20 as commander in December 2021 to the ISS.  This time he hosted two space tourists from Japan and only stayed in space just under 12 days. 

Misurkin has performed 4 EVAs for a total time of 28 hours and 14 minutes, including setting the record for the longest Russian EVA - 8 hours, 13 minutes.

Happy birthday, astronaut Mark Vande Hei!

Mark Vande Hei, born November 10, 1966 just down the road here in Falls Church, Virginia, has spent over 168 days in space on the International Space Station.  He was launched aboard Soyuz MS-06 as part of Expedition 53 in September 2017 and returned to Earth back in February. 

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Joe Acaba!

Joseph Acaba, born May 17, 1967 in Inglewood, California, is the first astronaut with Puerto Rican heritage.  His parents moved from Puerto Rico to California in the mid-60s where he was born.

His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-119) in March 2009 as mission specialist to the International Space Station.  He conducted two EVAs, which included lubrication of the station arm grapple snares and installation of a Global Positioning System antenna to the Kibo Laboratory.

His second mission was aboard Soyuz TMA-04M May 15, 2012.  He participated in Expeditions 31 and 32, returning to Earth September 17, after almost 125 days in space.

His third mission to the ISS was on Soyuz MS-06, on September 12, 2017, to participate in Expeditions 53 and 54.  During the mission he and Randy Bresnik performed an EVA to continue lubrication of the new end effector on the robotic arm, and to install new cameras.

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month - Joe Acaba, first Puerto Rican astronaut

Joseph Michael Acaba is the first astronaut of Puerto Rican heritage, His parents lived in Puerto Rico and moved to Inglewood, California where Joe was born.  His first Space Shuttle flight was aboard Discovery (STS-119) in March 2009, which delivered the final solar arrays to the International Space Station.

His second space flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-04M which took him back to the ISS.  The mission lasted from May to September 2012.

Acaba is currently aboard the ISS, having arrived on Soyuz MS-06 which launched just two weeks ago.

Soyuz MS-06 crew on board International Space Station

After a short 6-hour flight, Mark Vande Hei, Joe Acaba and Alexander Misurkin, crew of Soyuz MS-06 have arrived safely at and are on board the Internation Space Station!

Soyuz MS-06 fixin' to blast off this afternoon!

Soyuz MS-06 crew: Joe Acaba, Alexander Misurkin, Mark Vande Hei

This afternoon about 5:17pm EDT, the next crew of the International Space Station will blast off aboard Soyuz MS-06 from Baikonur in Kazakhstan and dock with the ISS approximately 6 hours later.  The crew consists of Lt. Col. Mark Vande Hei (Falls Church, VA; first flight), Joseph Acaba (first Puerto Rican astronaut; third flight) and cosmonaut/commander Alexander Misurkin (Yershichi, Smolensk Oblast, Russia; second flight)

They will join Randy Bresnik, Paolo Nespoli and Sergey Ryanzanski already on the ISS since July 28.  The new crew will continue experiments in biology, physical science and Earth science.

What?  No chemistry?

Just 10 days ago, Peggy Whitson, Jack Fisher and Fyodor Yurchikhin returned to Earth from the ISS, splatting down near Dzhezkagan in Kazakhstan.