Soyuz launch seen from Space Station

Soyuz MS-22 launch seen from space as it left Earth on 21 September 2022 with commander Sergey Prokopyev, cosmonaut Dmitry Petelin with NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio.

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti was on the International Space Station at the time as part of her six-month Minerva mission. She posted on social media with the comment "We had a spectacular view of the Soyuz launch! Sergey, Dmitry and Frank will come knocking on our door in just a couple of hours… looking forward to welcoming them to their new home!"

Samantha’s Minerva mission began on 27 April 2022, when she was launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre, USA, in the Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom.

As part of her Minerva mission, Samantha supported numerous European experiments and many more international experiments in microgravity. These experiments covered a wide range of disciplines.

While this mission was not her first to the International Space Station, it was packed full of groundbreaking moments: Samantha completed her first spacewalk in an Orlan suit, outfitting the European Robotic Arm alongside Oleg Artemyev; Samantha assumed the role of Space Station commander on 28 September, making her the fifth European, and first European woman, to hold the leadership position of the International Space Station; becoming the first astronaut to take their science communication to TikTok. Her account became a treasure-trove of glimpses into what life is like aboard the Space Station, engaging her followers’ curiosity in how it worked and what she got up to day-to-day.

Read more memories from mission Minerva here.