Soyuz MS-16
Soyuz MS-16
Launch Date
April 9, 2020
Craft
Soyuz
Status
Past
Crew
3
Soyuz MS-16
Soyuz MS-16
Launch Date
April 9, 2020
Craft
Soyuz
Status
Past
Crew
3
Overview
Soyuz MS-16 brought two Russians and an American to the International Space Station. Originally, a Japanese astronaut was supposed to fly but was replaced with an American due to continued delays to the start of the Commercial Crew Program for NASA. After 9 years as the only craft capable of launching people to (and bringing them back from) the ISS, this mission marked the Soyuz's last flight in that role. Six weeks after this flight began, SpaceX launched its first crewed mission to the ISS, once again giving the outpost two vehicles capable of launching and landing humans.
Crafts
Soyuz
Soyuz
Soyuz is a human-carrying capsule built and operated by Russia, capable of transporting up to three people to the Space Station at a time. It has been upgraded numerous times since its first use in the 1960s for the Soviet lunar program and was the only crewed vehicle for the Station from 2011 to 2020.