Wednesday, December 15, 2010

ISS Crew from three nations counting down to launch today

A Russian Soyuz rocket is poised for launch Wednesday on a two-day flight to ferry three fresh crew members to the International Space Station. Liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is targeted for 19:09:25 GMT, roughly the moment Earth's rotation carries the pad into the plane of the space station's orbit.

At the controls in the Soyuz TMA-20's center seat will be commander Dmitri "Dima" Kondratyev, assisted by Paolo Nespoli, an Italian astronaut with the European Space Agency who flew aboard the space shuttle in 2007.

Seated in the capsule's right seat will be Catherine "Cady" Coleman, a mother and retired Air Force colonel who flew aboard the shuttle in 1995 and 1999 and holds a doctorate in polymer science and engineering. She celebrated her 50th birthday Tuesday.
Coleman, Kondratyev and Nespoli (Source NASA)

Launching from the same pad used by Yuri Gagarin 50 years ago April 12, Kondratyev, Nespoli and Coleman plan to dock with the International Space Station at 3:12 p.m. Friday. Waiting to welcome them aboard will be Expedition 26 commander Scott Kelly, flight engineer Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka, who were launched to the station Oct. 7.

"As soon as they get on board, my primary goal is to get them acclimated to the environment and get them comfortable enough to where they can work up here efficiently," Kelly told a reporter. "One of the first things we do is a safety briefing, make sure they're aware and reminded of all the safety training they've had, but see it from the perspective of being on board here. Really, just to get them comfortable and ready to work starting the following Monday."

The six-member Expedition 26 crew faces a busy timeline that includes research, normal maintenance, two Russian-segment spacewalks and work to unload a variety of supply ships. A Japanese HTV cargo craft is scheduled to arrive in late January, followed by a Russian Progress supply ship, the shuttle Discovery in early February and the European Automated Transfer Vehicle, or ATV, at the end of the month that will deliver another load of supplies and equipment.

The shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to show up in early April along with another Progress later that month.

"There's a lot on our plate," Kelly said. "A lot of it is logistics, with these cargo vehicles coming up and preparing the space station for its future beyond shuttle and all the science, not only the science that we conduct now but the science we'll be able to conduct here for the next 10 years aboard the International Space Station."

On April 12, the Expedition 27 crew will mark two major space anniversaries: the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's launch to become the first man in space; and the 30th anniversary of the shuttle Columbia's launch on that program's first mission.

"It's going to be great to be on board when basically everybody thinks about the fact that 50 years ago Yuri Gagarin made his first flight, and now we think that living and working in space is part of everyday life," Coleman said in a NASA interview. "I think anniversaries are special because it makes us stop and think about our perspective, and realize that we've come a long way and that some of the roads ahead that might look difficult or daunting are roads that we should precede because we can make these things happen.

"Look at these hard things that we made happen, when you think about the fact that the shuttle program started 30 years ago and look at all the special, special kinds of things that have resulted from the fact that we, as a world, as a country, made a space shuttle that can bring both people and amazing equipment up to space."

Juan Martín Canales Romero
ISS Columbus Operations Coordinator

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