Soyuz Crew Readied For Morning Flight To Iss

Expedition 30 Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko, NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit and European Space Agency Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers appeared before the Russian State Commission on December 20, 2011, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. LIFT-OFF IS SET FOR 8:16 AM EST WEDNESDAY.The commission gave its FINAL APPROVAL FOR THEIR LAUNCH DECEMBER 21, 2011 [8:16 AM EST Wednesday] to the International Space Station. The crew also conducted a final pre-launch news conference at the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters as they prepared for liftoff in the Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft. A NASA spokesperson described the temperatures as "bitterly cold." The temperature was about minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit.The trio will spend five months on the Station. Also featured in the video are the backup crew members, Russian Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko, NASA Flight Engineer Suni Williams and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide.

Credit: we-are-believe.blogspot.com