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Shuttle, station, Soyuz crews enjoy orbital chat BY WILLIAM HARWOOD STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS "SPACE PLACE" & USED WITH PERMISSION Posted: September 19, 2006
The call took place just after 3 a.m., as the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft, carrying Expedition 14 commander Mike Lopez-Alegria, Mikhail "Misha" Tyurin and space tourist Anousheh Ansari sailed across Russia while the shuttle and space station, separated by about 98 miles, were passing 220 miles above Australia. "Good to hear your voice, Misha," station flight engineer Jeff Williams called. "And good morning Mike and Anousheh. It's a little crowded in the sky this morning with not only Atlantis and you all and us, but also the Progress free flier." Late Monday, Russian flight controllers sent commands to the space station to undock a Progress supply ship, loaded with trash and no-longer-needed equipment. It burned up in the atmosphere as planned a few hours later, clearing the way for arrival of the Soyuz Wednesday. "We were wondering if we had to hire some more air traffic controllers for the increased traffic up here," joked Lopez-Alegria. "We'll just have to keep eyeballs out a little more than usual," Williams replied. "How's your flight been going, Mike?" "Everything has been (Russian phrase)," Lopez-Alegria said. The Soyuz blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Sunday and if all goes well, Tyurin will guide it to a docking with the space station at 1:24 a.m. Wednesday. "Hello Misha, Mike and Anousheh," called station flight engineer Thomas Reiter. "Good to hear your voices!" "Hello everyone," said Ansari, who is believed to have paid in the neighborhood of $20 million for the trip. "I look forward to seeing you on the station." "In just a few hours, you will be here," Reiter said. "Yes," she said. "Yeah, we look forward to welcoming you all on board," Williams said. "Atlantis, do you want to step in here and say hello?" "Yeah, 14, how do you hear Atlantis?" shuttle commander Brent Jett called. "Brent, we have you loud and clear. How us?" asked Lopez-Alegria. "Loud and clear also, LA," Jett said. "Joe (Tanner) just mentioned three hogs in space and I think you have a tactical advantage right now in terms of fighter position." Jett was referring to an astronaut class mascot and the fact that the Soyuz was trailing the space station and Atlantis by about 6,550 miles, catching up to the lab complex in a lower, faster orbit. "Well, you guys are probably sorry to be heading home," Lopez-Alegria said, "but it'll be nice to have a cold beer and a shower." "It's been real short for us, you know," Jett said. "It's kind of funny, you guys are just starting a really long journey in space and our very short one is quickly coming to an end, sooner than we would like." After a short communications drop out, Lopez-Alegria asked Jett about landing preparations. "Yeah, entry day, our first opportunity's tomorrow, the weather's not looking all that good for tomorrow at KSC (Kennedy Space Center) but it's supposed to be real good the next day. So we may end up getting an extra day on orbit, which would not be all bad." "Just make sure you save some good food," Lopez-Alegria joked. "Actually, they gave all the food to us to save for you," Williams chimed in. "They cleaned us out pretty good, looking out for you guys," Jett confirmed. "Misha says as long as there's (unintelligible) he'll be happy." "I think you guys will be happy with the supplies on board, we're well supplied with two shuttle visits and a Progress," Williams said. "Hey Mike, before you go, Jeff and Pavel and Thomas, they've taken great care of station, it's really in great shape," Jett said. "We were really impressed, they've done a fantastic job. This mission would not have been a success without them. They were an integral part of it. So you're going to be impressed when you get there and I know you guys are going to have a good time." "We know we have a lot to learn from all of them and we look forward to our time together, especially having Anousheh on board," said Lopez-Alegria. "It's too bad that the Atlantis crew won't get to meet her, maybe at some opportunity on the ground in the future. But I think she should have a great short stay aboard and we look forward (to seeing the rest of you)." "And we look forward to getting you guys on board," Williams replied. "We're going to get up bright and early, or dark and early, however you want to say it, tomorrow morning and bring out the welcome mat." By docking time, the Soyuz crew should have its space legs. Tyurin told Russian flight controllers late Monday that Lopez-Alegria and Ansari were experiencing at least some of the symptoms of space adaptation syndrome, which affects about half the men and women who fly in weightlessness. As the conference call was breaking up, a Russian controller called the Soyuz to say a flight surgeon was standing by to chat with Ansari. But she sounded in good spirits when she hailed the space station.
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SUNDAY'S STATUS BRIEFING 