ISS Crew Gets a ‘Kick’ From Soccer Team Call

Three astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) took a break in their orbital work Thursday for an apparently fun-filled phone call with soccer champions from Spain.

Expedition 13 commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineers Jeffrey Williams and Thomas Reiter took an orbital call from the coach and players of FC Barcelona, Europe's reigning soccer champion, in ISS Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"It's a great honor for us to speak with you guys up in space," FC Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard told the Expedition 13 astronauts. "I think you are the true heroes up in space and you're doing a great job."

FC Barcelona players got a backstage tour of NASA's astronaut training facilities at JSC, and will play Mexico's Club America tonight at Houston's Reliant Stadium. During their call to the ISS, the players were joined by Brazil's first astronaut Marcos Pontes, who launched toward the station earlier this year with Vinogradov and Williams.

"Hey Marcos, good to see you," Williams said, adding that he looks forward seeing the Brazilian spaceflyer at the end of his mission.

An avid soccer fan by his own admission, Reiter performed an orbital bicycle kick inside the space station's Destiny laboratory for the visiting soccer champions.

"Thomas has been practicing that all day," Williams said of the kick, which drew cheers from the FC Barcelona guests and flight controllers. "That's a crowd pleaser, wouldn't you say?"

Reiter went through his weightless kick slowly as a precaution against damaging the $100 billion space station.

"My bank account does not allow me to pay for all the things I can damage here with my foot," Reiter said.

Reiter also followed the 2006 World Cup - held in his native country of Germany - as best as he could just before, during and after his July 4 launch into space during NASA's STS-121 shuttle flight to the ISS last month. He and his fellow Expedition 13 and STS-121 crewmates took bets on which country - France or Italy - would take the World Cup title last month (Italy, chosen by STS-121 astronauts Mark Kelly and Lisa Nowak, brought home the win).

FC Barcelona presented the Expedition 13 crew with their own team jerseys, personalized with each astronaut's name and the number 13 in honor of their mission.

A delighted Vinogradov, Williams, Reiter and ISS flight controllers, meanwhile, presented FC Barcelona with a photograph of the team's hometown as seen from orbit and a Spanish flag that rode aboard the space shuttle Discovery during its STS-121 mission.

"This is really something special and we will treasure it," said Rijkaard, who invited the Expedition 13 crew to his team's hometown stadium in Barcelona where they would be guests of honor once they return from space.

"Thank you very much," Williams said. "We'll have to work that into our schedule."

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