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The Russian Soyuz rocket ship was positioned onto the Baikonur launchpad early Sunday in preparation for Tuesday's historic manned mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The ship, which was already connected to its Soyuz rocket launcher, was transported from the test centre on a railtrack and positioned onto the launchpad at the traditional time of 7:00 am (0200 GMT). Yevgeny Kushnir, director of the Russian space centre, said that a final check of the rocket system and space equipment would be made on Sunday afternoon. "This is the first time that we have ever launched a Soyuz rocket to the ISS and it is a huge responsibility. I am sure that the launch will be successful," said Kushnir. A logo advertising the American multimedia company Dreamtime was attached to the rocket launcher. Russian space agency spokesman Sergei Gorbunov said that the US firm had paid "several hundred thousand dollars" to the Russian space centre and the Progress space bureau in Samara, which constructs Soyuz rockets, for the advertisement. Dreamtime has signed a 100-million-dollar contract with NASA to broadcast footage from the ISS on the internet. On Thursday, American William Shepherd and Russians Sergei Krikalyov and Yury Gidzenko will be the first crew to enter the ISS where they will remain until February 2001 when a replacement crew arrives. The space station project is backed by 16 nations led by the United States and Russia. ISS currently consists of the Russian modules Zvezda and Zarya, and the US module Unity. All rights reserved. � 2004 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Quick Links 
Houston - Oct. 26, 2000Flight controllers in Houston and Moscow are preparing the International Space Station to come to life next week with the arrival of its first inhabitants, the three-member Expedition 1 crew that is scheduled to launch from Kazakhstan at 1:53 a.m. CST on Tuesday, Oct. 31.   Nov 02, 2006 |
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