Space Station Status Report 19, 14-04-2005

Allard Beutel
Headquarters, Washington April 14, 2005
(Phone: 202/358-4769)

James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORT: SS05-019

The 11th crew of the International Space Station is on its way to its
new home-away-from- home in orbit. The Expedition 11 crew rocketed into
space tonight aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, beginning a six-month
mission.

The spacecraft carried Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Station Science
Officer and Flight Engineer John Phillips into orbit along with European
Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori. This will be the 10th Soyuz mission
to dock with the Station.

The Soyuz launched at 8:46 p.m. EDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome,
Kazakhstan, while the Station was flying north east approximately 230 miles
above the southern Atlantic Ocean. With Krikalev at the controls, the Soyuz
is on course to dock with the Station at 10:19 p.m. EDT, Saturday.

The hatches between the newly arrived Soyuz and the Station will be opened
about 1:05 a.m. EDT, Sunday. Live NASA TV coverage of docking and hatch
opening begins at 9 p.m. EDT, Saturday.

Krikalev and Phillips will stay aboard the Station until October, while
Vittori will spend eight days conducting experiments. The Expedition 10
crew, Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov, have been
doing research and maintaining the orbiting laboratory since October. With
Vittori, they will return to Earth on April 24.

The Expedition 11 crew will have the honor of opening the Station's door for
Space Shuttle Discovery's crew during the Return to Flight mission
(STS-114), planned for next month. Information about crew activities on the
Station, future launch dates, and sighting opportunities from anywhere on
the Earth, is available on the Internet at:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

NASA TV is available via satellite in the continental U.S. on AMC-6,
Transponder 9C, C-Band, at 72 degrees west longitude. The frequency is
3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz.
NASA TV is available in Alaska and Hawaii on AMC-7, Transponder 18C, C-Band,
at 137 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 4060.0 MHz. Polarization is
vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz. NASA TV is also available on
the Internet at:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

The next status report will be issued Sunday, April 17, after docking and
hatch opening. For information about NASA and agency programs on the
Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info