New Crew to Dock at International Space Station

After a few quiet weeks in space, the two-man skeleton crew is about to get some company in the form of three new crewmates due to dock at the International Space Station today.

NASA astronaut Timothy (T.J.) Creamer, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi launched Sunday aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft from Kazakhstan. They are set to catch up with the space laboratory at 5:58 p.m. EDT (2258 GMT).

After docking, the spaceflyers will check the seal between the two spacecraft to make sure there are no leaks, in preparation for opening the hatches at 7:29 p.m. EST (0029 GMT Wednesday).

The three new arrivals will join current station commander Jeff Williams, a NASA astronaut, and flight engineer Maxim Suraev, a Russian cosmonaut. The two have been taking care of the space station alone for three weeks after three spaceflyers departed Nov. 30.

"We're looking forward to their arrival in two short days," Williams radioed down to Mission Control after watching a video of the TMA-17 launch.

Kotov and Noguchi, veteran spaceflyers, have visited the orbital outpost before, though it was smaller in both physical size and crew complement in the past.

"The last time I visited, there were only two people onboard," Noguchi said in a preflight interview. "I'm looking forward to that new way of living in space."

Noguchi traveled to the station on 2005's STS-114 flight of the space shuttle Discovery. At that point, the space station lacked a number of the large rooms it now has, including the Japanese Kibo module and the European Columbus laboratory.

Creamer, Kotov and Noguchi are slated to stay onboard the space station until May 2010. During their tenure they will see the arrival of two visiting space shuttle flights as well as numerous Soyuz dockings and unmanned cargo ship deliveries.

The three newcomers will serve as Expedition 22 flight engineers. Then, in March 2010, Kotov is scheduled to relieve Williams as commander and begin the station's Expedition 23 mission.

In January, Kotov is set to participate in a spacewalk, or EVA (extravehicular activity) with Suraev. The two will work to integrate the new Russian Poisk module, which arrived at the station in November.

"Just after arriving to the station we will have to perform the EVA," Kotov said. "I'm really looking forward [to that]."

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