Houston / Moscow — NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station on Sunday, are onboard of the ISS.
The Soyuz rocket docket Tuesday December 22.
Liftoff of the Soyuz occurred from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The three Soyuz crew members joined the Expedition 22 crew members Jeff Williams, a NASA astronaut and the station commander, and Max Suraev, a Russian cosmonaut and station flight engineer, aboard the orbiting laboratory. The crew will now spend six months in orbit. The station’s five residents have some busy months ahead.
Kotov and Suraev will conduct a planned spacewalk in January.
Less than a week later, Williams and Suraev will fly the Soyuz spacecraft that brought them to the station from its current location on the end of the outpost’s Zvezda service module to the new Poisk module. In February, the crew will welcome a Progress unmanned resupply ship and space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-130 mission.
Endeavour and its crew will deliver the new Tranquility node and its cupola, one of the last major portions of the station to be installed.
Sources: NASA, JAXA, ROSCOSMOS.
Houston / Moscow — NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronautSoichi Noguchi, launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station on Sunday, are onboard of the ISS. The Soyuz rocket docket Tuesday December 22.Liftoff of the Soyuz occurred from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.The three Soyuz crew members joined the Expedition 22 crew members Jeff Williams, a NASA astronaut and the station commander, and Max Suraev, a Russian cosmonaut and station flight engineer, aboard the orbiting laboratory. The crew will now spend six monthsin orbit. The station’s five residents have some busy months ahead.Kotov and Suraev will conduct a planned spacewalk in January.Less than a week later, Williams and Suraev will fly the Soyuz spacecraft that brought them to the station from its current location on the end of the outpost’s Zvezda service module to the new Poisk module. In February, the crew will welcome a Progressunmanned resupply ship and space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-130 mission.Endeavour and its crew will deliver the new Tranquility node and its cupola, one of the last major portions of the station to be installed.Sources: NASA, JAXA, ROSCOSMOS.
