SCI/TECH: New space crew docks with station, page 1

posted on Oct, 16 2004 @ 07:07 AM

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A Russian spaceship carrying three crew has docked successfully with the International Space Station. The Soyuz craft carrying cosmonauts Salizhan Sharipov and Yuri Shargin and US astronaut Leroy Chiao docked one minute ahead of schedule. The three will spend 10 days taking over from the outgoing crew who will return to Earth along with Shargin. They plan to be in the ISS for six months.

news.bbc.co.uk
The new crew - Expedition 10 - will study plant growth and carry out experiments on possible vaccines against Aids, and plan to make two space walks. Their arrival marks the fourth trip to the ISS by a Soyuz spacecraft since the US suspended shuttle flights after the Columbia disaster of February 2003.

The Expedition 9 crew - Russian Gennady Padalka and American Mike Fincke - have completed a six-month tour of duty.

The new space crew were in jovial mood when they gave their last media conference before blast-off in a Russian Soyuz TMA-5 rocket. Technical problems had twice led to their launch date being put back.

Since the Columbia shuttle disaster in February 2003, Russian Soyuz craft have been the only means of getting crews to and from the ISS.

The latest estimate of when the US orbiters might return to flight is May next year at the earliest. Construction on the multi-billion-dollar platform is on hold until the shuttles are brought back into service and can carry up new components for the station.

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When we hopefully go to the Moon, Mars and beyond, it"s quite clear that we will need an international cooperation. This is just a stepping stone.

Hopefully during their time in the international space station good things will come. A cure for AIDS is despritaly needed as millions still continue to die. The time for this vaccine is now.

Best of luck to the two brave astonauts.

Valhall

posted on Oct, 16 2004 @ 08:08 AM

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Special thumbs up

to Sharipov who had to dock the Soyuz manually when the automatic docking system encountered a problem.

Crew hand-over will occur on the 23rd.

SpittinCobra

posted on Oct, 16 2004 @ 08:10 AM

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Originally posted by Valhall

Crew hand-over will occur on the 23rd.
YA YA YA.. me and Mac's B-day

There needs to be a change, those guys have been up there for a minute.

Valhall

posted on Oct, 16 2004 @ 08:16 AM

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Just a Cliff Claven moment on this. The crew hand-over is completed the minute the Soyuz seat cushions are changed out. Since the Soyuz lands on land instead of water, special seat cushions are required to help protect the crew's bodies from the hard impact. Each cushion is made specifically for that crewmember's body. SO, the seat cushion mandates who can sit there.

If there were a catastrophic problem on ISS right now, the three crewmembers who just arrived would be the only ones who could make an emergency egress in the Soyuz if the cushions have not been exchanged. If the cushions HAVE been exchanged, then the two replacing crewmembers would be required to stay on ISS while the others left.

Just another gee-whiz moment for ya.