Soyuz MS-03 was a Soyuz spaceflight launched on 17 November 2016.[1] It transported three members of the Expedition 50 crew to the International Space Station. MS-03 was the 132nd flight of a Soyuz spacecraft. The crew consisted of a Russian commander with American and French flight engineers.[2]

Soyuz MS-03
Soyuz MS-03 docked to International Space Station (ISS).
Mission typeISS crew transport
OperatorRoscosmos
COSPAR ID2016-070A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.41864Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration196 days 17 hours 49 minutes
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftSoyuz MS
Spacecraft typeSoyuz MS 11F732A48
ManufacturerEnergia
Launch mass7080 kg
Crew
Crew size3 (launching)
2 (landing)
MembersOleg Novitsky
Thomas Pesquet
LaunchingPeggy Whitson
CallsignKazbek
Start of mission
Launch date17 November 2016,
20:17:00 UTC
RocketSoyuz-FG
Launch siteBaikonur, Site 1
ContractorProgress
End of mission
Landing date2 June 2017, 14:10 UTC
Landing siteSteppes of the Kazakhstan
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.66°
Docking with ISS
Docking portRassvet nadir
Docking date19 November 2016, 21:58 UTC
Undocking date2 June 2017, 10:47 UTC
Time docked194 days

(l-r) Pesquet, Whitson and Novitsky

Crew

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Position[3] Launching Crew Member Landing Crew Member
Commander   Oleg Novitsky, Roscosmos
Expedition 50
Second spaceflight
Flight Engineer 1   Thomas Pesquet, ESA
Expedition 50
First spaceflight
Flight Engineer 2   Peggy Whitson, NASA
Expedition 50/51/52
Third (last NASA)[5] spaceflight
N/A [4]

Backup crew

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Position[6] Crew Member
Commander   Fyodor Yurchikhin, Roscosmos
Flight Engineer 1   Jack D. Fischer, NASA
Flight Engineer 2   Paolo Nespoli, ESA

Mission highlights

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Soyuz MS-03 launched with Expedition 50/51 on 17 November 2016, at 20:17 UTC. Astronaut Peggy Whitson, at age 56, became the oldest woman to fly into space.[7][8] Soyuz MS-03 docked at the International Space Station on 19 November 2016.[9] On 2 June 2017, Soyuz MS-03 undocked from the ISS, carrying Oleg Novitsky and Thomas Pesquet back to Earth after 196 days in space. Whitson remained on the ISS and returned on Soyuz MS-04 on 3 September 2017.

References

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  1. ^ "Soyuz MS-03 mission".
  2. ^ "Display: Soyuz MS-03 2016-070A". NASA. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Планируемые полёты. astronaut.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  4. ^ Harwood, William. "Whitson's station expedition extended three months". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  5. ^ Potter, Sean (15 June 2018). "Record-Setting NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson Retires". NASA. Retrieved 24 June 2018.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ astronaut.ru (2015). "Планируемые полёты" (in Russian).
  7. ^ "NASA's Peggy Whitson Becomes Oldest Woman in Space". abcnews.go.com. ABC News. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  8. ^ Chiara Palazzo (18 November 2016). "NASA veteran Peggy Whitson becomes the oldest woman in space as she blasts off for ISS". The Telegraph. Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  9. ^ "Welcome Aboard! New Arrivals Make Six Expedition 50 Crew Members | Space Station". blogs.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.