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Expedition 15's spacecraft is scheduled to dock at the station

Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and cosmonaut Oleg Kotov of the 15th International Space Station crew launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1:31 p.m. EDT Saturday to begin a six-month stay aboard.

With Yurchikhin and Kotov on their Soyuz TMA-10 is Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi, an American flying under contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency. He will return to Earth with Expedition 14, Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, on April 20. Expedition 14 launched to the station last Sept. 18.

Expedition 15's spacecraft is scheduled to dock at the station a little after 3 p.m. Monday.

About crews of Expedition 15's:

Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin
Yurchikhin is the Expedition 15 commander and a Russian cosmonaut representing the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos. He last visited the station in Oct. 2002 on mission STS-112.


Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov
A cosmonaut representing the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Kotov is the flight engineer and Soyuz commander for Expedition 15.

Flight Engineer Sunita Williams
Williams will remain on the station as an Expedition 15 flight engineer after Expedition 14 leaves the station.

Flight Engineer Clayton Anderson
Anderson will join Expedition 15 as flight engineer after launching to the station aboard Endeavour on mission STS-118. He will return home aboard Atlantis on mission STS-120.


Flight Engineer Daniel Tani
Tani will join Expedition 15 as flight engineer after launching to the station aboard Atlantis on mission STS-120. He will return home aboard Discovery on mission STS-122.


Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi
Born in Budapest, Hungary, Simonyi studied mathematics and computer science in the United States. He runs his own software engineering firm and contributes frequently to education and the arts.

Expedition 15 Backup Crew
The backup crew for Expedition 15 consists of Commander Roman Romanenko and flight engineers Mikhail Kornienko, Gregory Chamitoff and Sandra Magnus.

In pictures:
1.Expedition 15 crew launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in their Soyuz spacecraft. Image credit: NASA TV
2.Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin (left) assists crew mate and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov while training in the Crew Systems Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. Photo credit: NASA

Release link: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html