WASHINGTON — NASA and its international partners, the Russia Federal Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), have assigned four new International Space Station crews.
The crews include NASA astronauts Joe Acaba, Sunita Williams and Kevin Ford. Acaba was born in Inglewood, Calif., and raised in Anaheim, Calif. Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio, but considers Needham, Mass., her hometown. Ford was born in Portland, Ind., and considers Montpelier, Ind., his hometown.
Russian cosmonaut Oleg Konenenko, European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers and NASA astronaut Don Pettit were previously announced as Expedition 31 crew members. Expedition 31 begins when Soyuz 28 undocks from the station in March 2012.
Soyuz 30 is set to launch in April 2012 with the following crew members who have been added to Expedition 31:
— NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, flight engineer
— Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, flight engineer
— Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Valkov, flight engineer (Soyuz 30)
Expedition 32 will begin with the undocking of Soyuz 29 in May 2012. Soyuz 31 is set to launch in June 2012 with the crew members listed below who will join the three station residents already aboard.
— Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, station commander (Soyuz 30)
— NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, flight engineer (Soyuz 30)
— Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Valkov, flight engineer (Soyuz 30)
— NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, flight engineer (Soyuz 31)
— Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, flight engineer (Soyuz 31)
— JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, flight engineer (Soyuz 31)
Expedition 33 will begin with the undocking of Soyuz 30 in September 2012. Soyuz 32 is set to launch in October 2012 with the crew members listed below who will join the three station residents already aboard.
— NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, station commander
— Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, flight engineer
— JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, flight engineer
— NASA astronaut Kevin Ford, flight engineer (Soyuz 32)
— Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, flight engineer (Soyuz 32)
— Russian cosmonaut Evgeny Tarelkin, flight engineer (Soyuz 32)
Expedition 34 will begin with the undocking of Soyuz 31 in November 2012.
— NASA astronaut Kevin Ford, station commander (Soyuz 32)
— Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, flight engineer (Soyuz 32)
— Russian cosmonaut Evgeny Tarelkin, flight engineer (Soyuz 32)
Three additional crew members for Expedition 34 have yet to be assigned. They will travel to and from the station aboard Soyuz 33.
For complete biographical information about NASA astronauts, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/bios
For more information about the space station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station
For the announcement of the Expedition 27-31 crew members, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/oct/HQ_09-233_Space_Station_Crews.html
