NASA TV to Broadcast Space Station Crew's Move of Return Craft

June 30, 2009

Michael Curie
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100


Kelly Humphries
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111


MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-119

NASA TV TO BROADCAST SPACE STATION CREW'S MOVE OF RETURN CRAFT

HOUSTON -- Three members of the International Space Station crew will
board a Soyuz spacecraft attached to the station and move it to a
different docking port on Thursday, July 2. The journey will be
broadcast live on NASA Television.

Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineers Mike
Barratt of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency will undock the Soyuz TMA-14 return spacecraft, from the
Zvezda service module and fly a short distance to the Pirs docking
compartment. The flight is expected to take about 30 minutes.

NASA TV coverage will begin at 4 p.m. CDT with undocking planned for
4:26 p.m.

While Padalka, Barratt and Wakata are aboard the Soyuz, Expedition 20
Flight Engineers Roman Romanenko of Russia, Bob Thirsk of the
Canadian Space Agency and Frank De Winne of the European Space Agency
will monitor the move from inside the station. Their Soyuz return
craft, the TMA-15, is docked to the Earth-facing port of the
station's Zarya module.

The relocation of Soyuz TMA-14 opens the Zvezda docking port for the
arrival of a new Russian Progress cargo vehicle in late July.

For information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

For information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule
information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

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