NASA Announces Next Space Station Crew

Published: Jan 06, 2006
Source: www.space.com



NASA formally announced the next crew bound for the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday, a two-astronaut team set to launch in mid-March aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Veteran cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov, with Russia’s Federal Space Agency, will command the ISS Expedition 13 mission with U.S. astronaut Jeffrey Williams serving as both flight engineer and NASA science officer.

Also launching toward the ISS with the Expedition 13 crew will be Brazilian Air Force Lt. Col. Marcos Pontes, Brazil’s first astronaut slated to fly in space. Pontes is expected to spend about one week performing experiments aboard the ISS before returning to Earth with the station’s current crew.continue..