spacetoday.net: Soyuz docks with ISS

Posted: Mon, Oct 3, 2005, 7:13 AM ET (1113 GMT)
Soyuz TMA-6 docks with ISS (NASA)

A Soyuz spacecraft carrying a replacement crew and a commercial passenger docked with the International Space Station early Monday. The Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft docked with the Pirs module of the station at 1:27 am EDT (0527 GMT) Monday, just over two days after launch from Baikonur. Hatches separating the Soyuz from the station opened a few hours after docking. On board the Soyuz is the Expedition 12 crew of William McArthur and Valery Tokarev, who will relieve the Expedition 11 crew currently on the station. Also on the Soyuz is American businessman Greg Olsen, a commercial passenger billed as the third commercial space tourist. Olsen plans to carry out a suite of experiments during his week-long stay at the ISS. Olsen will return to Earth on October 11 along with the Expedition 11 ISS crew of Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips. McArthur and Tokarev will spend six months on the station; NASA officials said that McArthur will return either on the Soyuz he arrived at the station in or on a shuttle flight. The means of McArthur's return has been in question because Russia is no longer obligated to provide free flights for NASA astronauts, and current US law prohibits NASA from purchasing such services from Russia.