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New resident crew rockets toward the space station BY WILLIAM HARWOOD STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION Posted: March 29, 2006
Under a clear blue sky, the Soyuz roared to life on time at 9:30 p.m. EST (8:30 a.m. March 30 in Kazakhstan) and quickly climbed away atop a tongue of brilliant flame and a billowing cloud of exhaust. Vaulting away from the same pad Yuri Gagarin used 45 years ago, this was the 100th manned orbital launch from the sprawling Baikonur complex and the 12th Russian flight carrying crew members to the international space station. Live television shots from inside the cramped cabin showed commander Pavel Vinogradov, NASA flight engineer Jeff Williams and Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes as they monitored cockpit instruments during the ride up hill. Pontes smiled and pointed at the Brazilian flag on his spacesuit while Williams and Vinogradov followed their ascent checklist procedures.
"It was a great launch," said NASA associate administrator Rex Geveden. "This is a very lean operation but it's done very well. Launch was smooth, uneventful, the kind we like. It was great." Said Kirk Shireman, NASA's deputy station program manager, "It was really exciting. It was a beautiful launch and a beautiful day here in Baikonur. It's a really big event for the space station." ISS-12 commander Bill McArthur and flight engineer Valery Tokarev will spend a week showing the new crew the ins and outs of space station operation before returning to Earth with Pontes aboard the Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft that carried them into orbit Oct. 1, 2005. Landing in Kazakhstan is expected on April 8 around 7:46 p.m. EDT. "The hand off is always a busy time," said Shireman. "It will take a little time for BIll McArthur and Valery Tokarev to explain to them, show them exactly where everything is, how to live aboard the space station. ... Hopefully, an easy adaptation for Jeff and Pavel." Vinogradov and Williams will welcome a third crew member, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter, when the shuttle Discovery's docks with the space station this summer. Discovery's launch currently is targeted for July 1, assuming a variety of technical issues can be resolved. The space station has been staffed by rotating two-man U.S.-Russian crews since 2003 when NASA's shuttle fleet was grounded in the wake of the Columbia disaster. Without regular shuttle visits, assembly was put on hold and the crew size reduced from three to two, all the smaller Russian Soyuz and unmanned Progress cargo ships could accommodate. But thanks to a flawless launch record, the Russians have successfully kept the station operational while NASA concentrated on fixing the space shuttle. NASA launched the shuttle Discovery to the space station last July, but on-going problems with insulation on the shuttle's external tank have prevented additional flights. NASA hopes to resume regular assembly and resupply missions with Discovery's upcoming flight and with Mir-veteran Reiter on board, the station will have a three-man crew once again to carry out a full slate of experiments and assembly tasks. The ISS-13 mission duration will be 178 days. "I see this as almost a new beginning for the space station," Shireman said. It "sets the table for us to continue construction. It's a really big event and we're looking forward to continuing the build of the international space station." Vinogradov spent 198 days in space aboard the old Russian Mir space station in 1997 and 1998 while Williams is a veteran of a shuttle flight in May 2000. Pontes is a space rookie, flying to the station under a commercial contract between the Russian and Brazilian space agencies. |
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A total solar eclipse occurred March 29. This video from Side, Turkey shows the period of totality when the moon slid between the Earth and Sun. The eclipse revealed the Sun's glowing outer halo of million-degree gas, called the solar corona.
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As the Expedition 12 mission aboard the International Space Station winds down, officials managing the flight from Mission Control in Houston hold this retrospective briefing to talk about the highs and lows, the science, the spacewalks and everything in between.
International Space Station officials preview the next Expedition mission to the orbiting outpost, which is scheduled for launch March 29. The preview was given during a briefing March 22 from Johnson Space Center.
One of the iconic moments of the early space shuttle program was astronaut Bruce McCandless floating above the brilliantly blue Earth completely disconnected from his spacecraft. He was testing the Manned Maneuvering Unit, a jet-powered backpack that would enable spacewalkers to travel away from the space shuttle to service satellites. In this post-flight presentation, the crew of Challenger's STS-41B mission of February 1984 narrate the film highlights from their mission that also included the first shuttle landing at Kennedy Space Center.
VIDEO:
LAUNCH OF EXPEDITION 13! 