Planned Launch for ISS Expedition 7 Crew and an EVA for Expedition 6

April 26, 2003 will see the launch of the Expedition 7 crew to the International Space Station. Veteran Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko (Col., Russian Air Force, pictured on left) and veteran NASA astronaut Ed Lu (right) have been named as the primary crew. The launch will take place aboard a Russian Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft. There have been some concerns about postponing the launch, with the Russians suggesting it might be delayed until May 10. Concerns seem to have been addressed and NASA is feeling confident for an April 26 launch.

The Expedition 6 commander is Ken Bowersox, with Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and Science Officer Don Pettit making up the rest of the crew. This crew will return to Earth aboard the Soyuz TMA-1 craft sometime in May, 2003.

Image International Space Station. The TMA-1 spacecraft with a "tail" number 211 became the 5th Soyuz to fly to the ISS. It was scheduled to replace the Soyuz TM-34, which arrived to the station in April 2002. The Expedition 6 crew have been in space since November 23, 2002, and aboard the ISS since November 25, 2002. Originally scheduled to return to Earth in March aboard the shuttle Atlantis on STS114, their return was postponed after the Columbia accident.

Yuri Malenchenko, a Colonel in the Russian Air Force has been in space several times already. In 1994, he was aboard the Russian space station Mir for a four month mission. Malenchenko also participated in the STS106 mission on Atlantis in 2000, preparing the ISS for human occupation.

Image Soyuz TMA-1.

NASA astronaut Ed Lu has been on two shuttle flights, in 1997 he was aboard Atlantis, STS84 on its trip to Mir for crew exchange. Lu also joined Malenchenko on STS106. Malenchenko and Lu will continue to operate the science payloads already on board, as well as maintaining the Station until their departure in May.

In preparation for the arrival of Expedition 7 crew, the Progress M-47 cargo ship fired its thrusters to raise the station's orbit by about 3 miles to 249 miles above the Earth's surface. This maneuver is necessary for docking purposes.

On April 8, there is a planned EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) for Expedition 6 crew of Commander Ken Bowersox and Science Officer Don Pettit. The two will be continuing the ongoing outfitting of the International Space Station.

Coverage of Tuesday's EVA will begin at 7 a.m. EDT on NASA TV. The EVA is expected to run from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT. NASA TV is available on GE-2, Transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880 MHz, and audio of 6.8 Mhz.

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