Crew heading to the ISS in high spirits despite their failed October 11 launch<\/b>
\nAstronauts set to board the first manned space mission since an unprecedented accident aboard Russia\u2019s Soyuz, on Sunday brushed aside safety concerns, saying they were ready to take risks.
Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos, Anne McClain of Nasa and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency will launch to the International Space Station (ISS) from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on Monday.
They will head to the ISS after a Soyuz rocket carrying Russia\u2019s Aleksey Ovchinin and US astronaut Nick Hague failed on October 11 just minutes after blast-off.
The pair escaped unharmed, but the failed launch was the first such incident in Russia\u2019s post-Soviet history and a new setback for the country\u2019s once proud space industry.
The crew heading to the ISS dismissed any possible concerns about their safety.
\u201cRisk is part of our profession,\u201d crew commander Oleg Kononenko told a news conference at Baikonur, adding they \u201cabsolutely\u201d trusted teams preparing them for the flight.
\u201cWe are psychologically and technically prepared for blast-off and any situation which, God forbid, may occur on board,\u201d the 54-year-old said.
Anne McClain, a 39-year-old former military pilot, struck a similar note.
\u201cWe feel very ready for it,\u201d she said.
Canada\u2019s Saint-Jacques added that Soyuz spacecraft was \u201cincredibly safe,\u201d noting it was \u201cactually reassuring\u201d to witness the October aborted launch from Baikonur.
The accident highlighted the \u201csmart design of the Soyuz and the incredible work that the search and rescue people here on the ground are ready to do every launch,\u201d the 48-year-old said.
Russia said last month the launch of the Soyuz rocket failed because of a sensor that was damaged during assembly at the Baikonur cosmodrome. But officials insisted the spacecraft remains reliable.
Saint-Jacques will be the first Canadian astronaut to visit the space station since Chris Hadfield, who recorded a version of David Bowie\u2019s Space Oddity classic aboard the ISS in 2013.
Canada\u2019s governor general and former astronaut Julie Payette is expected to be among dignitaries to watch Monday\u2019s launch.
Of the trio set to reach the ISS six hours after blast-off, both Saint-Jacques and McClain will fly for the first time. Kononenko is beginning his fourth mission to add to an impressive 533 days in space.
Nasa\u2019s McClain was deployed to Iraq and represented the United States women\u2019s national rugby union team in the past.
She has said that training to spacewalk was similar to rugby since it demands \u201cgrit, toughness, mental focus, and more\u201d.<\/p>\n