New Six-Member Space Station Crew Relaxes After Busy Day

The six-member Expedition 27 crew is relaxing after a busy day of docking activities. Commander Dmitry Kondratyev and Flight Engineers Paolo Nespoli and Cady Coleman welcomed new crew members Ron Garan, Andrey Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyaev after they arrived Wednesday in the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft.

The new trio docked to the Poisk module Wednesday at 7:09 p.m EDT then entered the station at 10:13 p.m. They were greeted by Kondratyev, Coleman and Nespoli. After receiving congratulations from mission officials and family members, the new trio began a mandatory safety orientation for new arrivals. The International Space Station has now hosted 200 unique visitors.

All six crew members will begin standard crew handover and station familiarization activities and transfer cargo from the Soyuz TMA-21. The crew also will resume normal science and maintenance tasks.

The Expedition 27 crew now looks forward to upcoming visiting vehicles such as the Progress 41 resupply vehicle and space shuttle Endeavour. The dockings are planned for April 29 and May 1 respectively.

The new crew members are scheduled to live and work at the International Space Station until September. They will become Expedition 28 crew members when Kondratyev, Coleman and Nespoli undock from the Rassvet module in May in their Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft. Borisenko will become station commander.