Opening a new page in the more than decade-long saga of the Mir space station, a new two-man crew was launched Tuesday, April 4 at 1:01 Eastern Daylight Time (05:01 GMT) from Earth toward the Russian orbital outpost.
The rocket carrying Soyuz TM-30 spacecraft with the commander, Sergei Zalyotin and Alexander Kaleri, flight engineer, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
The Russian Aviation and Space Agency, Rosaviacosmos, officially confirmed that the spacecraft successfully reached the orbit, separating from the third stage of its launcher at 1:10 a.m. EDT (05:10 GMT).
According to the data from the mission control center in the town of Korolev near Moscow, the spacecraft was circling Earth in an orbit 120 by 146 miles (193 by 235 kilometers).
The first engine firing is scheduled for 4:37 a.m. EDT (08:37 GMT) on April 4. The burn will last for 49-seconds.
After two days of solo flight and two more engine firings, the Soyuz is scheduled to dock with the Mir on April 6 at 2:33 a.m. EDT (06:33 GMT).
Mir was abandoned in August 1999 when Rosaviacosmos could no longer afford to keep the outpost occupied. Since then Western investors have came forward with funding, which allowed for the financing of the latest mission.
What was originally planned to be a 45-day flight to prepare the station for deorbiting, could turn into a 60-day or longer renovation flight if more privately raised money reaches RKK Energia, the company that operates Mir.
Rosaviacosmos representatives said that the crew could stay until August provided there are funds to continue the mission. They stressed that no federal financial support for the program would be available.
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