spacetoday.net: Soyuz launched to ISS

Posted: Thu, Mar 30, 2006, 8:49 AM ET (1349 GMT)
Soyuz TMA-8 launch (Energia)

A Soyuz spacecraft carrying the next crew for the International Space Station as well as the first Brazilian astronaut lifted off Wednesday evening. A Soyuz rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:30 pm EST Wednesday (0230 GMT Thursday) and placed the Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft into orbit about ten minutes later. On board the spacecraft are the two members of the Expedition 13 ISS crew, Pavel Vinogradov and Jeff Williams, as well as the first Brazilian astronaut, Marcos Pontes. Vinogradov and Williams will relieve the Expedition 12 crew of Bill McArthur and Valery Tokarev, who have been the station for six months. The Soyuz is scheduled to dock with the ISS Friday at 11:19 pm EST (0419 GMT Saturday). The two crews will spend a week on the station together before McArthur, Tokarev, and Pontes return to Earth on the Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft currently docked to the station.