[sarex] Expedition 14 Awaits STS-116 After Shuttle Launches

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

Space Shuttle Discovery is on its way to the International Space 
Station. Expedition 14 awaits the STS-116 crew delivering with it the P5 
truss segment and a new station crew member. Discovery lifted off at 
7:47 p.m. EST Saturday from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The space shuttle 
will dock with the station Monday afternoon.

The P5 will be attached to the end of the P4 and sets the stage for the 
addition of the P6. STS-116’s stay at the station will feature three 
spacewalks to attach the P5 and to reconfigure and redistribute power 
generated by the station’s solar arrays.

The new crew member is NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams. She will replace 
European Space Agency Astronaut Thomas Reiter. Williams is scheduled to 
stay on the station for about six months and Reiter will return home 
with STS-116.

Throughout the week, the Expedition 14 crew has prepared for STS-116’s 
arrival by transferring cargo, preparing spacewalking tools and 
equipment and reviewing procedures for photographing the space shuttle's 
thermal protection shield as it approaches the station.

For the latest news and information on STS-116, visit the main shuttle 
page. + Read more 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html>

+ Read more about Expedition 14 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/index.html>
+ View crew's daily timelines 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/timelines/index.html>

NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency have named two astronauts and 
two cosmonauts to the next International Space Station crew, known as 
Expedition 15. Astronauts Clayton Anderson and Daniel Tani will travel 
to the station next year and work as flight engineers. Cosmonauts Fyodor 
Yurchikhin and Dr. Oleg Kotov will spend six months aboard the orbiting 
laboratory.

+ Read more about Expedition 15 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/index.html>
+ Read the press release 
<http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/oct/HQ_06337_new_station_crew.html>