The Stars My Destination: Expedition 66

Better Late than Never | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

International Space Station (I.S.S.) Expedition 66 began on 17 October 2021 after the departure of Soyuz MS-18, with veteran cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, motion picture director Klim Shipenko, & actress Yulia Peresild. The latter duo filmed scenes for an upcoming Russian film, The Challenge. Very apropos to hosting The Challenge, the Expedition 66 mission patch echoes the road signs for U.S. Route 66, the most famous signage in the U.S. highway systems, made iconic by the television series Route 66.

Expedition 66 (as of 8 January 2022)
Commander: Anton Shkaplerov (Russian, Roscosmos)
Flight Engineer 1: Pyotr Dubrov (Russian, Roscosmos)
Flight Engineer 2: Mark Vande Hei (American, N.A.S.A.)
Flight Engineer 3: Raja Chari (American, N.A.S.A.)
Flight Engineer 4: Thomas Marshburn (American, N.A.S.A.)
Flight Engineer 5: Kayla Barron (American, N.A.S.A.)
Flight Engineer 6: Matthias Maurer (German, E.S.A.)

Shipenko & Peresild arrived on orbit aboard Soyuz MS-19 on 5 October, along with CDR Anton Shkaplerov, before departing aboard Soyuz MS-18, along with CDR Novitsky. The Russians mix & match spacecraft crew, which drives me crazy, affronting my persnickety sense of order; they've been doing it for decades, so I can only imagine they have no intention of stopping.

Soyuz MS-18 (Y. A. Gagarin, launch): 9 April 2021
Commander: Oleg Novitsky (Russian, Roscosmos)
Flight Engineer: Pyotr Dubrov (Russian, Roscosmos)
Flight Engineer: Mark Vande Hei (American, N.A.S.A.)

Soyuz MS-19 (Astraeus, launch): 5 October 2021
Commander: Anton Shkaplerov (Russian, Roscosmos)
Spaceflight Participant 1: Klim Shipenko (Russian, private)
Spaceflight Participant 2: Yulia Peresild (Russian, private)

Soyuz MS-18 (Y. A. Gagarin, landing): 17 October 2021
CDR: Oleg Novitsky (Russian, Roscosmos)
S.P.1: Klim Shipenko (Russian, private)
S.P.2: Yulia Peresild (Russian, private)

Soyuz MS-19 (Astraeus, landing): 28 March 2022 (planned)
CDR: Anton Shkaplerov (Russian, Roscosmos)
F.E.: Pyotr Dubrov (Russian, Roscosmos)
F.E.: Mark Vande Hei (American, N.A.S.A.)

In December 2021, the I.S.S. was visited by two Japanese space tourists, accompanied by a Russian cosmonaut.

Soyuz MS-20 (Altair, launch): 8 December 2021
Commander: Alexander Misurkin (Russian, Roscosmos)
Spaceflight Participant 1: Yusaku Maezawa (Japanese, private)
Spaceflight Participant 2: Yozo Hirano (Japanese, private)

Soyuz MS-20 (Altair, landing): 20 December 2021
CDR: Alexander Misurkin (Russian, Roscosmos)
S.P.1: Yusaku Maezawa (Japanese, private)
S.P.2: Yozo Hirano (Japanese, private)

Meanwhile, in the United States Orbital Segment, SpaceX Crew-2 departed (the Endeavour, 8 November 2021) before the arrival of SpaceX Crew-3 (the Endurance, 11 November 2021). Crew-3 are scheduled to transfer to Expedition 67 in March or April of 2022, around the same time as the arrival of the Crew-4 quartet.

Crew-3 (Endurance, launch): 11 November 2021
Commander: Raja Chari (American, N.A.S.A.)
Pilot: Thomas Marshburn (American, N.A.S.A.)
Mission Specialist 1: Matthias Maurer (German, E.S.A.)
Mission Specialist 2: Kayla Barron (American, N.A.S.A.)

Crew-4 (new Crew Dragon, launch): April 2022 (planned)
CDR: Kjell Lindgren (American, N.A.S.A.)
Pilot: Robert Hines (American, N.A.S.A.)
M.S.1: Jessica Watkins (American, N.A.S.A.)
M.S.2: Samantha Cristoforetti (Italian, E.S.A.)

Crew-5, planned for autumn of 2022, marks the first flight of the Russian cosmonaut on a SpaceX Crew Dragon. During the first decade of the I.S.S., in between Space Shuttle flights, & during the second decade of the I.S.S., when Soyuz was the only operational manned spacecraft, N.A.S.A. purchased seats for astronauts aboard Soyuz capsules. Going forward, those cash payments will end & there will be a straight swap of seats, Soyuz for Crew Dragon &, eventually, Starliner.

Crew-5 (Crew Dragon, launch): September 2022 (planned)
CDR: Nicole Mann (American, N.A.S.A.)
Pilot: Josh Cassada (American, N.A.S.A.)
M.S.1: Koichi Wakata (Japanese, J.A.X.A.)
M.S.2: Anna Kikina (Russian, Roscosmos)

Semper exploro.