A rocket with a Soyuz spacecraft aboard was on a launchpad at Baikonur in Kazakhstan Wednesday, ready to carry a new crew to the International Space Station.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut John Phillips, Russian Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and the European Space Agency’s Roberto Vittori are scheduled to take off from the Baikonur cosmodrome Thursday and dock with the ISS two days later, the Russian ITAR-TASS news agency said.
Krikalev, 46, was chosen to head the expedition. Phillips, 53, will be flight engineer and also will perform the role of ISS science officer.
Both men will spend six months on the station, replacing NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao and Russian cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov. Vittori is to return 10 days later.
The Russian Interfax news agency reported the crew’s food menu includes meat, fish, various soups, rye bread, tea, coffee and juices. The men will not drink alcohol during the expedition.
Meanwhile, Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov remain on track with packing up and preparing the International Space Station for its next resident crew.
Chiao and Sharipov continued maintenance activities this week, including preparing and packing items for the return to Earth.
Additionally, to prepare for his return to full gravity, Sharipov completed his second of two sessions with a device designed to simulate gravity by applying negative pressure to the lower half of the body. Both crewmembers also completed their usual 2.5 hour exercise regimen.
