After a series of discussions today, NASA and the Russian Aviation and
Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos) reached a decision on the launch date for the
Soyuz 2 taxi mission and subsequent on-orbit activities.
Rosaviakosmos will launch the Soyuz 2 as scheduled Saturday, April 28, and
has agreed to delay the Soyuz’s docking to the International Space Station if
additional time is required to resolve command-and-control computer problems
aboard the station.
Today’s decision will ensure continued safe operations aboard the International
Space Station and provide for the timely arrival of the replacement Soyuz
lifeboat.
While the International Space Station and Space Shuttle teams have made
significant progress, mission managers are trying to resolve the computer issue
by tomorrow. The Russian proposal to delay Soyuz docking, if required, provides
critical flexibility to the mission management team.
