Spacecraft hub

ESA astronaut Tim Peake took this image from the International Space Station on his six-month Principia mission.

On the left is the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft that bought Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and commander Yuri Malenchenko to the Space Station on 15 December 2015. It docked to the Russian Rassvet module after Yuri manually approached and made contact with the International Space Station.

Next to the Soyuz is the Cygnus supply spacecraft that arrived at the Space Station six days before the Tims and Yuri on 9 December. Cygnus is uncrewed and flies to the Space Station in an automated mode. The spacecraft is then grappled by the 16-m Canadarm and moved to berth with a docking port, here on the US Unity module.

The picture shows how close the spacecraft are to each other – when they arrive and leave they fly at speeds of 28 800 km/h, just like the International Space Station. Cygnus is scheduled to leave the Station 19 February, the Canadarm has already been moved into position ready for its release and deployment. The Cygnus will burn up harmlessly on reentry into Earth’s atmosphere with waste materials from the Space Station. The astronauts have been busy preparing for its departure loading it with waste.

The difference in the spacecraft’s solar arrays are obvious. The Soyuz solar array unfolds in a traditional  accordion style, whereas the Cygnus uses a newer fan-like technique resulting in the circular ‘umbrella’ formation.

In the background Earth can be seen with the new day beginning to the left of the image. For the people living in the darker regions it was night at the time Tim took this picture.