spacetoday.net: Soyuz docks with ISS

Posted: Sat, Mar 28, 2009, 3:43 PM ET (1943 GMT)
Soyuz TMA-14 approaching the ISS (NASA)

A Soyuz spacecraft carrying two ISS crew members and a space tourist docked with the space station Saturday morning after switching from an automated approach to a manual one. The Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft docked with the Zvezda module of the ISS at 9:05 am EDT (1305 GMT), about nine minutes earlier than scheduled. While the docking is normally done with automated systems, ground controllers asked Soyuz commander Gennady Padalka to switch to manual about 150 meters from the station because of a problem with one of the thrusters. Officials later said the problem was with the automated control system for that specific thruster. The docking otherwise took place without incident. Besides Padalka, the Soyuz carried NASA astronaut Michael Barratt, as well as commercial passenger Charles Simonyi, who was making his second trip to the ISS. Simonyi will return on April 7 with current ISS crew members Mike Fincke and Yury Lonchakov.