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Russian cosmonaut to pilot Soyuz spacecraft to new dock on ISS

RIA Novosti

21/01/201011:49

MISSION CONTROL (KOROLYOV, Moscow Region), January 21 (RIA Novosti) - Popping outside to move the car to a different parking space is something most of us do without a second thought, but on Thursday it will be a major endeavor for Maxim Surayev.

The Russian cosmonaut is to pilot the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from its usual docking port on the International Space Station to the new Poisk module, a Russian Mission Control spokesman said. It is expected to take 25 minutes.

"I think I am ready. I know the spacecraft inside and out," Surayev wrote on his blog posted at Russia's Federal Space Agency's website http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?id=48.

He will be assisted by U.S. astronaut Jeff Williams.

The command to undock the Soyuz from the Zvezda service module of the International Space Station will be given at 1:00 p.m. Moscow time [10:00 GMT], the spokesman said.

Soyuz Commander and Expedition 22 Flight Engineer Surayev will then maneuver the craft to the Poisk research module for its maiden docking at 1:25 p.m. (10:25 GMT).

The Mission Control representative explained that the manual mode had been chosen to economize on fuel.

The Soyuz craft are used to ferry crew to and from the space station.