Soyuz MS-15 was a
Soyuz
Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Soviet Union, Union of Soviet Socialist Republi ...
spaceflight launched on 25 September 2019,
transporting two members of the
Expedition 61
Expedition 61 was the 61st Expedition to the International Space Station, which began on 3 October 2019 with the undocking of the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft. The Expedition was commanded by European Space Agency, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, who be ...
crew and a short duration visiting crew member to the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
. Soyuz MS-15 was the 143rd flight of a Soyuz spacecraft with a crew. It was the last flight of
Soyuz-FG
The Soyuz-FG was an improved variant of the Soyuz-U launch vehicle from the R-7 (rocket family), R-7 rocket family, developed by the Progress Rocket Space Centre in Samara, Russia. It featured upgraded first and second stage engines, RD-107A and ...
launcher before its replacement by the
Soyuz-2
Soyuz2 (; GRAU index: 14A14) is a Russian expendable medium-lift launch vehicle and the seventh major iteration of the Soyuz rocket family. Compared to its predecessors, Soyuz-2 features significant upgrades, including improved engines and ...
in the crewed spaceflight role, and also the final launch from Site 1/5 (
Gagarin's Start
Gagarin's Start (, ''Gagarinskiy start''), also known as Baikonur Site 1 or Site 1/5 was a launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan that was used by the Soviet space program and Roscosmos.
History
20th century
The launchpad f ...
). The crew consisted of a Russian commander, an American flight engineer, and the first Emirati astronaut. To celebrate this event, pictures of the Soyuz launcher and of Hazza Al Mansouri were projected on
Burj Khalifa
The Burj Khalifa (known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration) is a megatall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft, or just over half a mile) and a roof height (excluding the antenna, but inc ...
, the tallest building in the world.
Burj Khalifa lights up as UAE readies to enter space
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Crew
References
{{Orbital launches in 2019
Crewed Soyuz missions
Spacecraft launched in 2019
2019 in Russia
Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-FG rockets
Spacecraft which reentered in 2020