Soyuz MS-25 Launched The First Belarusian Into Space

At 12:36 UTC on Mar. 23, 2024, Soyuz MS-25 carried into space, towards the International Space Station (ISS), an international crew consisting of the Commander, Oleg Novitzkij, the mission specialist, NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, and the Belarusian cosmonaut Marina Vasilevskaya. She is the first citizen of the Belarusian Republic, since its foundation, to cross the threshold of space.

Soyuz MS-25 liftoff. Credits: Roscosmos

According to the agreements signed between Russian President Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Lukashenko in 2023, it was established that the first cosmonaut of the Republic of Belarus would be a woman. After a long selection process, Marina Vasilevskaya and Anastasia Lenkova prevailed among the six candidates. The first was selected for the mission’s main crew, and the second for the reserve crew.

The crew of Soyuz MS-25. From left to right: NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitzkij and Belarusian cosmonaut Marina Vasilevskaya. Credit: Roscosmos — *The crew of Soyuz MS-25. From left to right: NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitzkij and Belarusian cosmonaut Marina Vasilevskaya. Credits: Roscosmos*

This is the 154th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft with people on board since the first mission, in 1967.

The Soyuz MS-25 mission

The rocket lifted off from Site 31 at Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan. Nearly eight and a half minutes after liftoff, the Soyuz spacecraft was released in orbit. The Russian capsule is set to dock with the ISS on March 25, at 15:10 UTC.

The flight journey will last 48 hours instead of the usual 3 and a half, as the relative positions of the ISS and Baikonur do not allow for a direct flight in two orbits.

Of the three crew members, only commander Novitszkij has already been to space, on board Soyuz TMA-06M, MS-03, and MS-18 respectively. NASA mission specialist Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Belarusian cosmonaut Marina Vasilevskaya are on their first flight.

*Soyuz vertical on the pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls*

Of the three crew members, only commander Novitszkij has already carried out other space missions with the Soyuz TMA-06M, MS-03 and MS-18 respectively. NASA mission specialist Tracy Caldwell Dyson is also a space veteran having already flown twice, the first of which, in 2007, with the Space Shuttle. Belarusian cosmonaut Marina Vasilevskaya is on her first flight.

The “other” Belarusians in space

If Marina Vasilevskaya is the first Belarusian born after the independence of the republic from the USSR, other Belarusians by birth have already been into space.

The “Other” Belarusians who flew into space. From Left to right: Pjotr Klimuk and Vladimir Kovalenok. Credit: Roscosmos — *The “Other” Belarusians who flew into space. From Left to right: Pjotr Klimuk and Vladimir Kovalenok. Credits: Roscosmos*

First of all, Pyotr Klimuk, the first Belarusian by birth flew three times with Soyuz 13, 18 and 30.

After him, Vladimir Kovalyonok also flew three times with Soyuz 25, 29, and T4. Lastly, perhaps it will be a coincidence or perhaps not, Commander Novitzkij is also Belarusian by birth having been born in Cherven in the Minsk region.