Apr 4 2011
From The Space Library
RELEASE: 11-096 SPACE STATION CREW LAUNCHES FROM BIRTHPLACE OF HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT
WASHINGTON -- One week shy of the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight, NASA astronaut Ron Garan and Russian cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyaev launched to the International Space Station at 6:18 p.m. EDT Monday (4:18 a.m. local time, April 5) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz rocket that lifted Garan, Borisenko and Samokutyaev into orbit was decorated with Yuri Gagarin's name. The mission lifted off from the same launch pad used April 12, 1961, when Gagarin became the first human to journey into space. The crew is scheduled to dock its Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft to the station's Poisk port at 7:18 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6. The crew members will join Expedition 27 Commander Dmitry Kondratyev and Flight Engineers Cady Coleman of NASA and Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency, who have been aboard the orbiting laboratory since December 2010. On Wednesday, NASA Television will broadcast live coverage of the docking beginning at 6:45 p.m. Coverage of the hatch opening and a welcoming ceremony aboard the station will begin at 8:45 p.m.
RELEASE: 11-097 NASA RETARGETS SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR'S LAUNCH FOR APRIL 29
WASHINGTON -- Following discussions among the International Space Station partners on Sunday, NASA has targeted the launch of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission for 3:47 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 29. The delay removes a scheduling conflict with a Russian Progress supply vehicle scheduled to launch April 27 and arrive at the station April 29. NASA managers will hold a Flight Readiness Review on Tuesday, April 19, to assess the team's readiness to support launch. An official launch date will be selected at the conclusion of the meeting. The Progress 42 spacecraft will be delivering supplies to the station. Three more members of the Expedition 27 crew are scheduled to launch at 6:18 pm EDT on Monday, April 4, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Their arrival will return the station crew's size to six members. Russian cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyaev and NASA astronaut Ron Garan are scheduled to arrive at the station at 7:18 p.m., Wednesday, April 6, to join cosmonaut Expedition 27 Commander Dmitry Kondratyev, European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, who have been aboard the station since mid-December.
