[sarex] Expedition 15 Crew to Launch from Baikonur

[Arthur Rowe]

>
>> SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
>>
>> Expedition 15 Crew to Launch from Baikonur
>>
>>     04.02.07
>>
>> Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and cosmonaut Oleg Kotov of the 15th 
>> International Space Station crew are scheduled to launch from the 
>> Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at about 1:30 p.m. EDT on April 7 
>> to begin a six-month stay in space.
>>
>> JSC2007-E-15352 -- Spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi and 
>> cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Fyodor Yurchikhin Image to right: Attired 
>> in Russian Sokol launch and entry suits, spaceflight participant 
>> Charles Simonyi (left) and cosmonauts Oleg Kotov (center) and Fyodor 
>> Yurchikhin (right) join hands as they pose for a portrait in Star 
>> City, Russia. Photo credit: Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center
>>
>> TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO:
>> http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15
>>
>> With them will be Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi. He is an 
>> American flying under contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency.
>>
>> He will return to Earth with Expedition 14 crew members, Commander 
>> Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, on April 
>> 20. Expedition 14 launched to the station last Sept. 18.
>>
>> After its April 7 launch, Expedition 15's Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft is 
>> scheduled to dock at the station a little after 3 p.m. on April 9.
>>
>> There they will be greeted by their third Expedition 15 crew member, 
>> astronaut Sunita Williams. She launched to the station aboard the 
>> STS-116 mission of Discovery on Dec. 9 and arrived at the station 
>> Dec. 11. She joined Expedition 14 in progress and will provide 
>> Expedition 15 with an experienced flight engineer for the early part 
>> of its increment.
>>
>> Williams, 41, is a Naval Academy graduate and a Navy commander. She 
>> flew helicopters and was a helicopter test pilot before being 
>> selected as an astronaut in 1998.
>>
>> Yurchikhin, 48, will be making his second flight into space. He was a 
>> member of the STS-112 crew which launched to the station on Oct. 7, 
>> 2002, with the Starboard 1 Truss. He holds a Ph.D. in economics and 
>> was named a cosmonaut-candidate in 1997.
>>
>> Kotov, 41, is making his first spaceflight. He graduated from the 
>> Moscow Medical Academy in 1988, and was named a cosmonaut-candidate 
>> in 1996.
>>
>> Astronaut Clayton Anderson is scheduled to replace Williams as a 
>> flight engineer during Expedition 15. Anderson, 48, holds a master's 
>> degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University. He was 
>> selected as an astronaut in 1998 and will be making his first 
>> spaceflight.
>>
>> Two Expedition 16 crew members are expected to arrive next fall to 
>> replace Yurchikhin and Kotov
>>
>>
>>
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