In the assembly and test case of the site No. 254 of the Baikonur cosmodrome, the pre-flight preparation of the piloted ship “Union MS-18” continues. Today, March 22, 2021, specialists of the Rocket and Space Corporation “Energy” named after S.P. Korolev and Space Center “South” (a branch of the center of exploitation of objects of ground-based space infrastructure is part of the state corporation “Roskosmos”) performed the operation of the control illustration of solar batteries of the ship power supply system.
Checking the functioning of solar panels provides a regular deployment of sections of the photocells and their artificial irradiation with powerful luminaires for the control removal of the parameters of the electrical circuit of solar energy converters. In addition, the ship completed the installation of special equipment of the descent apparatus and the preparation of individual crew equipment.
Start of the Soyuz-2.1A carrier missile with a transport piloted ship and the crew as part of the participants of the 65th main expedition to the International Space Station scheduled for April 9, 2021 from the Baikonur cosmodrome.