Latest Space Station Crew Blasts into Space aboard Russian Rocket

Latest Space Station Crew Blasts into Space aboard Russian RocketNASA announced that three new crew members launched successfully over the weekend from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan headed for the International Space Station (ISS). The crew lifted off at 10:40 p.m. EDT Saturday, July 14 consisting of NASA Flight Engineer Sunita Williams, Russian Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Flight Engineer Akihiko Hoshide.

The launch was carried live via NASA television and live over the internet as seen below on this page. Additional live coverage of the mission will be streamed live as well. Up next in the mission, the three are scheduled to dock their Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft to the Rassvet module of the station at 12:52 a.m. EDT Tuesday, July 17.

Current onboard the ISS are Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency and Flight Engineers Joe Acaba of NASA and Sergei Revin of Russia. The current crew of the ISS has been in orbit since May 17 and will now have company.

The ISS will be staffed by the team of 6 for the next few months when Acaba, Padalka and Revin will return to Earth. The return is scheduled for September 17. Command of the ISS will then be handed over to Williams who will lead Expedition 33 until She, Malenchenko and Hoshide return to Earth in November.

Watch live streaming video of latest ISS mission coverage from NASA TV here


Live video from your Android device on Ustream

About D Robert Curry

D Robert Curry - with over 2 decades of experience in the IT sector and an avid aviator, Mr. Curry covers all Science & Technology and Aviation realted news stories. drcurry@newstaar.com