Welcome back to the ISS, Mike Fincke!
Written by Bob McCormick on 10/14/2008 09:34:00 PMWork was great yesterday. I got to see the 17 Soyuz crew dock to the International Space Station, which they managed to do about 5 minutes ahead of schedule (and since I happen to manage and monitor that schedule, I should know ...).
The 17 Soyuz crew consists of the new Expedition 18 Commander, Michael Fincke, as well as the Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov (who is also a veteran on the ISS, albeit with a visiting Shuttle). It also includes the 17 Soyuz Visiting Crewmember Richard Garriott (who is the son of the Apollo and Skylab Astronaut Owen Garriott).
Soon after the docking and ingress, the crew had a public relations event with visitors at Mission Control in Moscow (where, naturally, the docking was also being closely monitored). There, Mike's wife Renita and his children (Chandra, Tarali - who was born on Mike's first tour to the ISS, and Surya) were able to speak and see Mike again on orbit.
After my last experiences with Mike on orbit, the whole thing brought me a sense of deja vu. I'm definitely looking forward to his latest upcoming expedition.
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Related links:
Space.com, New Crew, Space Tourist Arrive at Space Station
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