Soyuz Move Prepares For Arrival Of New Crew To The International Space Station

November 1, 2013

Image Caption: The Soyuz TMA-09M under the command of Expedition 37 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin backs away from the International Space Station's Rassvet module for a flyaround to the aft port of the Zvezda service module. Credit: NASA TV

[ Watch The Video: Russian Soyuz Vehicle Relocates at the International Space Station ]

NASA

Three International Space Station crew members took their Soyuz for a spin around the block Friday as they prepare for the extremely busy final week of Expedition 37.

Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineers Karen Nyberg and Luca Parmitano undocked their Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft from the Rassvet module on the Earth-facing side of the station at 4:33 a.m. EDT Friday. After backing the vehicle a safe distance away, Soyuz Commander Yurchikhin rotated the Soyuz and began the flyaround to the rear of the station. Carefully aligning the spacecraft with the docking port on the aft end of the Zvezda service module, which was vacated by the European Space Agencys fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) on Monday, Yurchikhin guided the spacecraft in for its docking at 4:54 a.m.

Coincidentally, Yurchikhin was at the helm for the last Soyuz relocation at the station in June 2010 when he piloted the Expedition 24 crews Soyuz TMA-19 vehicle from Zvezda to the then newly installed Rassvet module.

Fridays Soyuz move sets the stage for the launch and arrival of a trio of new station crew members NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata and Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of the Russian Federal Space Agency who will dock their Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft to Rassvet on Nov. 7 about six hours after their launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

View NASA Television coverage schedule http://www.nasa.gov/press/2013/october/three-space-station-crews-get-ready-for-relocation-launch-landing/

The arrival of Mastracchio, Wakata and Tyurin will mark the first time since October 2009 that nine people have served together aboard the station without the presence of a space shuttle.

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Soyuz Move Prepares For Arrival Of New Crew To The International Space Station