Soyuz with ISS crew onboard docks successfully with ISS

KOROLEV (Moscow region), December 23 (Itar-Tass) -- The manned
spaceship Soyuz with the international ISS crew of three astronauts
onboard docked at 01.48 a.m. Moscow time on Wednesday with the
International Space Station.

"The spaceship docked to the docking module Zarya in the automatic
mode," spokesman for the Mission Control Center Valery Lyndin told
Itar-Tass on Wednesday.
The Soyuz TMA-17, which was launched from the Baikonur spaceport on
December 21, brought to the ISS Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, NASA
astronaut Timothy Creamer and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi. They will
work on the orbit for half a year. Upon arrival of the international trio
to the ISS the ISS-22 crew enlarged to five people.
The chiefs of Russian and Japanese space agencies, Mission Control
Center specialists, journalists and guests applauded loudly to the
successful docking. The interest to the flight is great, the press sector
and the VIP-zone were packed to capacity.
"The astronauts are to open up the hatches and go aboard the ISS at
about 03.40 a.m. Moscow time," the Mission Control Center said.
The working program of the ISS-22/23 crew is intensive and
diversified. The ISS crewmembers are to receive three shuttles and two
freighters Progress, as well as to dock and put into operation the new
Russian module Rassvet (MIM-1), which the shuttle will bring to the orbit
in May 2010. Alongside, the ISS expedition is to make a spacewalk in the
interests of the Russian segment and to redock the Soyuz from one module
to another one. The Russian scientific research program numbers about 50
experiments, some of which have not been carried out on the ISS yet.
Creamer and Noguchi will conduct several dozens of other experiments on
the U.S. segment and the Japanese module Kibo.

.URGENT - ISS crewmen open up hatches between Soyuz and ISS.

KOROLEV (Moscow region), December 23 (Itar-Tass) -- The astronauts,
who arrived aboard the Soyuz TMA-17, and their ISS colleagues opened up
the hatches between the manned spaceship and the ISS, the Mission Control
Center told Itar-Tass.
Oleg Kotov, Timothy Creamer and Soichi Noguchi were welcomed by the
old timers - the ISS-22 crewmen Maxim Suraev and Jeffrey Williams. The
arrived astronauts will work at the ISS for about half a year.

.ISS crew offer festive diner for new crew bringing New Year gifts.

KOROLEV (Moscow region), December 23 (Itar-Tass) -- The old timers of
the International Space Station - Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev and NASA
astronaut Jeffrey Williams, who have worked on the orbit alone already for
a month, welcomed joyfully their colleagues, who arrived aboard the manned
spaceship Soyuz.
After the hatches have been opened at 03.42 a.m. Moscow time the crew
of the next ISS expedition - Russian astronaut Oleg Kotov, NASA astronaut
Timothy Creamer and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi started 'swimming' into
the ISS from the docked spaceship Soyuz TMA-17.
Oleg Kotov was the first to get through the hatch, Soichi Noguchi was
coming next, and Timothy Creamer was the last to leave the Soyuz. All
crewmen have Santa Claus caps on.
Right after the meeting the ISS crewmen accepted congratulations on
the successful docking from the Earth from the chiefs of Russian and
Japanese space agencies, the chiefs of the space programs of Russia, the
United States and Japan and their relatives. For the arrival of ISS
colleagues the old timers Suraev and Williams prepared a festive diner.
The ISS is fully provided with various food products, even with fresh
fruit, which the Russian freighter had brought on the orbit in the middle
of November, the Mission Control Center said.
The party is expected to be merry as always, because the ISS crewmen
are always glad for guests from the Earth. New crewmen usually bring the
parcels and letters from home, fresh fruit and vegetables for the ISS
crewmen. This time they have also brought a bag of New Year gifts and a
Christmas tree.
After a short break the astronauts will have a difficult, but pleasant
period of 'settling' on the ISS. This time there will be no nervous and
tense atmosphere on the station, when one crew was to pass the orbital
shift to another crew for a week, as well as to make several scientific
experiments, the results of which are immediately returned to the Earth.
However, this does not mean that there will be no problems on the station
for the next few days. The new crewmen should familiarize with the ISS,
which will be their 'space house' for half a year, should study the
operation of all onboard systems and solve many daily problems with the
old timers. However, this crew is lucky to celebrate the Catholic
Christmas and the New Year, which are announced the holidays on the ISS.

.Russia to help India to build manned spaceship based on Soyuz.

KOROLEV (Moscow region), December 23 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia will help
India to build a domestic manned spaceship on the base of Soyuz, chief of
the department of piloted programs of the Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos)
Alexei Krasnov told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.
"The Indian side intends to use the experience of building the manned
spaceship Soyuz to advance in building their own spaceship. We will build
this spaceship on a similar technical scheme, but it will not resemble
Soyuz," he said.
Krasnov noted that the Soyuz is heavier and cannot be launched by a
light Indian booster. "These plans are outlined until 2020," the Roskosmos
official said.
For his part, President and Designer General of the Russian Aerospace
Corporation Energia Vitaly Lopota said the corporation's specialists
"possess all space technologies," which they can share with Indian
partners. "With Roskosmos's appropriate support we will be able to reequip
technically and increase the production of the spaceships Soyuz," he
noted. New spaceships Soyuz can also be used for the spaceflights of first
Indian astronauts. This issue has already been discussed with India,
Krasnov said.
"A flight of Indian astronauts aboard the Soyuz without a mission to
the ISS was among the issues, which we discussed with Indian partners," he
noted.
According to the Roskosmos official, India sets forth ambitious tasks
to create the country's piloted program and asks Russia to assist in
accomplishing this task. "This work of Indian colleagues is just in the
very beginning, and our negotiations are also held at the initial stage,"
Krasnov said.
-0-baz