[sarex] Crew Moves Soyuz to Prep for New Arrivals

[Arthur Rowe <azrowe80@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

*Crew Moves Soyuz to Prep for New Arrivals*

The Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft undocks Image above: The Soyuz TMA-9 
spacecraft undocks from the station's Zarya module. Image credit: NASA TV

TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html


The Expedition 14 crew aboard the International Space Station welcomed 
an off-duty day Friday after a busy week of preparations for the arrival 
of the next crew in April.

Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and 
Suni Williams boarded their Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft and undocked it from 
the Earth-facing port of the station's Zarya module at 6:30 p.m. EDT 
Thursday. With Tyurin at the controls, the craft was maneuvered to the 
aft port of the Zvezda module and docked at 6:54 p.m.

The move was made to clear the Zarya port for the arrival of Expedition 
15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov, along 
with spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi on April 9.

+ Read more about the Soyuz relocation 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_soyuz_relocation_032907.html> 


On Tuesday, the unpiloted Progress 23 cargo craft was undocked from the 
aft port of the Zvezda service module. The cargo craft, filled with 
trash and unneeded items from the station, was commanded several hours 
after undocking to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up over the 
Pacific Ocean.

The crew also continued science research aboard the orbital outpost this 
week, including a successful run with the Synchronized Position Hold, 
Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) experiment. During a 
session with SPHERES, Williams set up a test in which three of the 
bowling-ball sized satellites flew together in formation within the 
station cabin for the first time.
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