Expedition 9, the new crew of the International Space
Station, was successfully launched tonight at 11:18 p.m. EDT.
The crew reached orbit at approximately 11:28 p.m. EDT.
The Expedition 9 Commander, Russian cosmonaut Gennady
Padalka, and NASA International Space Station Science Officer
Mike Fincke were successfully launched from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
They’ll arrive at the orbiting laboratory in two days.
European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers of the
Netherlands was launched with Padalka and Fincke. He will
spend nine days on the Station performing scientific
experiments under a contract between ESA and the Russian
Federal Space Agency.
Kuipers will return to Earth April 29 EDT with the Expedition
8 Station crew, Commander and NASA Station Science Officer
Mike Foale and a Russian cosmonaut, Flight Engineer Alexander
Kaleri. They have been on the Station since last October.
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