14 DAY TRIAL // After launching on Wednesday (3:14 am EDT, 0714 GMT) from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, flight engineers Jeff Williams (NASA) and Maxim Suraev (RosCosmos), accompanied by billionaire Guy Laliberte, finally reached and docked to the International Space Station (ISS). The procedure, which went flawlessly, concluded at 4:35 am EDT (0835 GMT) today.
NASA representatives say that the Russian-built capsule docked to the aft end of the Zvezda service module, and that the six astronauts already aboard the ISS opened the hatch separating the two spacecraft at 6:57 am EDT (1057 GMT). A video conference featuring the nine ISS occupants also took place, the American space agency announces.
The Canadian space tourist Laliberte, the founder of the famous circus troupe Cirque du Soleil, will return to Earth in about eight days, accompanied by acting ISS Commander Gennady Padalka (RosCosmos), who will hand over the command to ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, and Michael Barratt (NASA), acting ISS flight engineer.
The two professional astronauts have just concluded their six-month stay on the orbital facility, and are scheduled to return home aboard the Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft. Once the two transfer their positions to the new arrivals, Expedition 20 will be officially over, and Expedition 21 will begin. The departure is scheduled for 9:05 pm EDT (2305 GMT), on October 10.
De Winne will become the first European astronaut to assume the command of the ISS. He went to orbit on May 2, and is scheduled to return to Earth on December 1, aboard the Soyuz TMA-15 capsule – which, at this point, acts like a safety boat for the station crew. It is currently attached to the Earth-facing port of the Zaraya module. Flight engineers Nicole Stott, Roman Romanenko and Robert Thirsk will also be transitioning the expedition change, and will continue to serve in their current positions. Once De Winne returns to Earth, Jeff Williams will lead the ISS crew, as the Expedition 22 commander.