Crew flights to the International Space Station will resume in November, preventing the station from being left empty.
The Space Station Control Board, consisting of NASA and international partner space agencies, tentatively set Nov. 14 as the date to resume launches.
Launches of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft have been on hold since a failed launch of a similar-type rocket in August.
Russian investigators determined the failed launch was caused by a blockage in the motor of the upper-stage rocket, preventing fuel from reaching the gas generator and causing the engine to shut down.
âThe plan approved today, coupled with the conditions on orbit, allow the partnership to support this priority while ensuring astronauts will continue to live and work on the station uninterrupted,â said Michael Suffredini, space station program manager.
The new schedule includes the Thursday departure of NASAâs Ron Garan and two Russian cosmonauts. NASAâs Mike Fossum and two other crew members will remain on the ship for 61 days.
NASAâs Dan Burbank and two cosmonauts will launch Nov. 14 and arrive two days later, according to a NASA release.
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