There are three new Expedition 23 crew members aboard the International Space Station. Following the completion of leak checks, the hatches between the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft and the station were opened at 3:19 a.m. EDT Sunday.
VIDEO: EXPEDITION 23 PREFLIGHT CREW NEWS CONFERENCE WATCH | DOWNLOAD EXPEDITION 23 CREW PROFILE WATCH | DOWNLOAD EXPEDITION 23 WATCH | DOWNLOAD STAR CITY DEPARTURE CEREMONY WATCH | DOWNLOAD PRELAUNCH ACTIVITIES AND SOYUZ ROLLOUT WATCH | DOWNLOAD UPDATED SOYUZ ROLLOUT WATCH | DOWNLOAD STATE COMMISSION MEETING AND NEWS CONFERENCE WATCH | DOWNLOAD SOYUZ TMA-18 LAUNCH WATCH | DOWNLOAD SOYUZ LAUNCH PART 2 WATCH | DOWNLOAD SOYUZ LAUNCH REPLAYS WATCH | DOWNLOAD POSTLAUNCH VIDEO FILE AND INTERVIEWS WATCH | DOWNLOAD PRELAUNCH VIDEO FILE WATCH | DOWNLOAD SOYUZ TMA-18 DOCKS WITH ISS WATCH | DOWNLOAD HATCH OPENING AND WELCOMING CEREMONY WATCH | DOWNLOAD POSTDOCKING NEWS CONFERENCE WATCH | DOWNLOAD HI-DEFINITION VIDEO OF THE LAUNCH OF SOYUZ TMA-18 "Contact. Contact. OK, contact, hard mate." "Everybody's clapping here," a Russian flight controller radioed. "Everybody's applauding you guys." After leak checks to make sure the two spacecraft had an airtight seal between them, the hatches between them were opened at 3:19 a.m. EDT and the ISS and Soyuz crews met for the first time. A welcome ceremony for the new arrivals followed hatch opening with family members and dignitaries participating from the Russian mission control center in Korolev, Russia. "Congratulations on your successful launch and docking," said Kirk Shireman, deputy manager of the space station program at the Johnson Space Center. "It's great to see you on board the ISS. I wanted to wish you all a happy Easter. And for Soichi, T.J. and Oleg, it's great to see all of you as a crew of six on board ISS and wish you all the best on this holiday." "Thank you very much," Dyson replied. Dyson's mother, Mary Ellen Caldwell, took the phone a few minutes after that, saying "Hi, Tracy, it's Mom. Hi guys, you all look wonderful and you look like you had a good flight. Congratulations on your big success and happy Easter." "Thanks a lot, Mom," the astronaut replied. "Love you." "Hello Tracy, it's your husband," George Dyson called. "I wanted to let you know that you look beautiful and with your grin from ear to ear, it looks like you're happy to be back in your home. Enjoy your time up there and I'll be talking to you soon. I love you." NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko lifted off aboard the Soyuz TMA-18 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan 12:04 a.m. Friday. The trio docked to the station at 1:25 a.m. Sunday, completing the Expedition 23 crew. The new crew members were welcomed by Expedition 23 Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi who arrived at the station Dec. 22 aboard the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft. Space shuttle Discovery and the STS-131 crew are set to launch Monday from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and dock with the orbital laboratory April 7. Discovery is delivering new science racks and ammonia tanks. While there, two shuttle astronauts will perform three spacewalks to switch out ammonia tanks on the station. Yest kasaniya! Soyuz TMA-18/22S docked successfully this morning at 1:25am ED at the MRM2 (Mini Research Module 2), 3 minutes ahead of schedule, ~20 min after local sunrise, on Soyuz orbit #34 (DO2). This brings the total number of docked Russian VVs (visiting vehicles) to 4: Soyuz TMA-17/21S is docked at FGB Nadir, Progress 35P at DC-1 Nadir & Progress 36P at SM (Service Module) Aft. TMA-18 delivered Exp-23 crewmembers FE-1 Alexander Alexandrovich Skvortsov (Russia), FE-2 Tracy Caldwell-Dyson (USA) & FE-3 Mikhail Kornienko (Russia). After about 1h 45 min spent in Soyuz on pre-transfer activities, hatches were opened at 3:21am and the crew transferred to the ISS. This was followed by the traditional welcome event and the installation of the BZV QD (quick disconnect) clamps of the docking & internal transfer mechanism (SSVP) by Skvortsov, to rigidize the joint. [Shortly after "kasaniya" (contact), automatic "sborka" (closing of Soyuz & MRM2 port hooks & latches) took place while ISS was in free drift. Attitude control authority had been handed over to the Russian MCS (Motion Control System) at ~11:10pm and was returned to US CMG control at ~2:50am. For the docking, Russian thrusters were disabled during Soyuz volume pressurization & clamp installation and afterwards returned to active attitude control. Before hatch opening, the crew performed leak checks of the Soyuz modules and the Soyuz/MRM2 interface vestibule. They then doffed their Sokol suits, and Kornienko set them and their gloves up for drying. Skvortsov deactivated the BOA/Atmosphere Purification Unit in the SA/Descent Module, replaced the Soyuz ECLSS LiOH cartridges, equalized Soyuz/ISS pressures, and put the spacecraft into conservation mode on ISS integrated power.] Well before the docking, CDR Kotov, FE-5 Noguchi & FE-6 Creamer completed a number of scheduled tasks. Steps by the ISS crew leading up to the Soyuz docking included –
After the successful docking at the MRM2 port –
At wake-up (9:00 pm last night), CDR Kotov performed the regular daily early-morning check of the aerosol filters at the Russian Elektron O2 generator which Maxim Suraev had installed on 10/19 in gaps between the BZh Liquid Unit and the oxygen outlet pipe (filter FA-K) plus hydrogen outlet pipe (filter FA-V). [CDR again inspected the filters before bedtime this morning, currently a daily requirement per plan, with photographs to be taken if the filter packing is discolored.] FE-6 Creamer & FE-5 Noguchi completed another Reaction Self Test (Psychomotor Vigilance Self Test on the ISS) protocol. [The RST is performed twice daily (after wakeup & before bedtime) for 3 days prior to the sleep shift, the day(s) of the sleep shift and 5 days following a sleep shift. The experiment consists of a 5-minute reaction time task that allows crewmembers to monitor the daily effects of fatigue on performance while on ISS. The experiment provides objective feedback on neurobehavioral changes in attention, psychomotor speed, state stability, and impulsivity while on ISS missions, particularly as they relate to changes in circadian rhythms, sleep restrictions, and extended work shifts.] After breakfast, Noguchi also supported the weekly U.S. “Bisphosphonates” biomedical countermeasures experiment, ingesting an Alendronate pill before breakfast. [The Bisphosphonates study should determine whether antiresorptive agents (that help reduce bone loss) in conjunction with the routine in-flight exercise program will protect ISS crewmembers from the regional decreases in bone mineral density documented on previous ISS missions. Two dosing regimens are being tested: (1) an oral dose of 70 mg of Alendronate taken weekly starting 3 weeks prior to flight and then throughout the flight and (2) an intravenous (IV) dose of 4 mg Zoledronic Acid, administered just once approximately 45 days before flight. The rationale for including both Alendronate and Zoledronic Acid is that two dosing options will maximize crew participation, increase the countermeasure options available to flight surgeons, increase scientific opportunities, and minimize the effects of operational and logistical constraints. The primary measurement objective is to obtain preflight and postflight QCT (Quantitative Computed Tomography) scans of the hip. The QCT scans will provide volumetric bone density information of both cortical and trabecular (spongy) bone regions of the hip.] In preparing the Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) for the installation of the MELFI 3 (Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS #3), due to arrive in MPLM (Multi Purpose Logistics Module) Leonardo’s Bay 1 on STS-131/19A, Soichi removed 2 SDPs (soft dummy panels) at JPM Bay A1. FE-5 & FE-6 collected coolant samples of ITCS LTL & MTL (Internal Thermal Control System Low Temperature Loop & Moderate Temperature Loop) for return to the ground, Noguchi in Node-2, Creamer in Node-3. Afterwards, TJ & Soichi had more time set aside for generic 19A return cargo gathering, transferring & prepacking. Working jointly on the ARED advanced resistive exercise device, Creamer & Noguchi replaced its pulley ropes, a nominal planned replacement based on number of uses. [These are not the upper stop cables that were frayed. Creamer reported that he would like to complete the upper stop cable replacement task off the task list sometime tomorrow.] The newly arrived crewmembers had their first PMCs (Private Medical Conferences), via S- & Ku-band audio/video, Tracy at ~7:05am, Mikhail at ~8:20am, Alexander at ~9:45am EDT. Soichi & TJ conducted their weekly PFCs (Private Family Conferences) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop), Noguchi at ~10:350am, Creamer at ~11:20am. The crew performed their physical workout regime on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (FE-5), TVIS treadmill (CDR), ARED advanced resistive exerciser (FE-6) and T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (FE-5, FE-6). (The Spacearium / SpaceflightNews.net)
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