Soyuz TMA-3 transport spacecraft docks with the International Space Station

October 20, 2003. Korolev, Moscow area

The Russian Soyuz TMA-3 manned transport spacecraft has
been docked to the Orbital Complex of the International
Space Station (ISS). Contact of the spacecraft docking assembly
with the docking port of the Pirs (Piers) Docking Compartment-Module
took place at 11:16 Moscow daylight saving time when the
spacecraft and complex were in the radio visibility of Russian
ground measuring stations.

The Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft approached the ISS Orbital Complex
after two days of the autonomous flight on the near-earth
orbit, completing on the final portion of this phase all
necessary operations on rendezvous with the complex and
final approach to it in the automatic mode.

Transfer hatches between the spacecraft and Pirs module
were opened at 14:16 upon completion of operations on mechanical
capture, tightening up and interface sealing check. The
spacecraft crew consisting of Russian cosmonaut Alexander
Kaleri, American astronaut Michael Foale as well as European
Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque from Spain moved to the
Russian Segment of the station.

The spacecraft fly-around, rendezvous and final approach
were observed by the main ISS Expedition 7 crew (ISS-7 crew)
and personnel from Russian and American Mission Control
Centers, among them through coming trajectory-measurement,
telemetry and TV information, including information from
external onboard TV cameras located on the Russian and USOS
Segments of ISS.

On board the Orbital Complex stays a joint international
crew: Russian cosmonauts Yu. Malenchenko (ISS-7 Commander),
A. Kaleri (ISS-8 Flight Engineer), American astronauts Ed.
Lu (ISS-7 Flight Engineer), Michael Foale (ISS-8 Commander)
and ESA astronaut Pedro Duque from Spain (EP-5 Flight Engineer).
They have to work together on board the complex during eight
days. For this time the cosmonauts and astronauts will perform
the planned scientific and technological studies and experiments,
among them under the Cervantes program (ESA).

The ISS-7 crew return to Earth on the Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft
is planned for October 28th, 2003 with the landing at 5:36
Moscow time.

At the present time the ISS complex weighing about 188.3
t incorporates: Zarya Functional Cargo Block, Zvezda Service
Module, Pirs Docking Compartment-Module, Soyuz TMA-2 and
Soyuz TMA-3 manned spacecraft, Progress M-48 cargo vehicle
(Russian Segment), as well as Yuniti and Destini modules,
Quest air lock and multilink truss structure with deployed
solar arrays (USOS Segment).

Flight control of the ISS Russian Segment is exercised from
MCC-M (Korolev, Moscow area) in interaction with the American
Mission Control Center MCC-H (Houston, USA). Pilot-cosmonaut
V.A. Soloviev is Flight Director.

The complex conducts flight on the near-earth orbit with
the following parameters: maximum altitude – 401.3 km, minimum
altitude- 376,7 km, period of revolution around Earth –
92.0 min.

The onboard systems of transport spacecraft and modules
of the complex are functioning in the calculated mode. The
joint crew is performing on orbit the activities under the
flight program.

At MCC-M during the maneuvers of the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft
rendezvous and docking with ISS were present members of
State Commission (Co-chairmen: Rosaviakosmos First Deputy
General Director N.F. Moiseyev, TsNIIMASh Deputy Director
V.A. Grin) and Technical Management of Nanned Space Programs
(Technical Manager of Russia’s Manned Programs – Korolev
RSC Energia General Designer, Academician Yu.P. Semenov),
as well as representatives of Russian enterprises and organizations
involved in ISS program implementation.

Implementation of operations during rendezvous and docking
were observed from MCC-M by NASA Associate Administrator
for Space Flight William Readdy, ESA Director of Manned
Spaceflight and Microgravity Joerg Feustel-Bueechl, General
Director of the Spanish Center of Industrial Technology
Development Vicente Homes, representatives of Rosaviakosmos,
NASA, ESA, Spanish business circles, leading Russian and
foreign information agencies and TV companies.

After docking took place a press-conference for the Russian
and foreign mass-media representatives available at MCC-M.
Among the participants of the press-conference were: Co-Chairmen
of the State Commission N.F. Moiseyev and V.A. Grin, Technical
Manager of Russia’s Manned Programs, Korolev RSC Energia
General Designer, Academician Yu.P. Semenov, TsNIIMASh General
Director, Academician N.A. Anfimov, Gagarin RGNIIB TsPK
(Cosmonaut Training Center) First Deputy Director V.G. Korsun,
NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight William Readdy,
ISS Program Manager William Gestenmayer, ESA Director of
Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity Joerg Feustel-Bueechl,
General Director of the Spanish Center of Industrial Technology
Development Vicente Homes.

In the first TV communication session with ISS held after
the meeting of Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft and ISS-7 crews, Co-Chairman
of the State Commission V.A. Grin, NASA Associate Administrator
for Space Flight William Readdy, ESA Director of Manned
Spaceflight and Microgravity Joerg Feustel-Bueechl congratulated
A. Kaleri, M.Foale, P. Duque on arrival at the station and
wished the joint international crew a successful work on
the flight program.