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Expedition 21 Crew Launches From Kazakhstan
"Flight Engineers Jeffrey Williams and Maxim Suraev of the 21st International Space Station crew launched in their Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 3:14 a.m. EDT Wednesday to begin a six-month stay in space. Less than 10 minutes after launch their spacecraft reached orbit, and its antennas and solar arrays were deployed shortly afterward. With Williams, a retired U.S. Army colonel, and Suraev, a colonel in the Russian Air Force, is spaceflight participant Guy Laliberté, flying under an agreement between the Russian Federal Space Agency and Space Adventures, Ltd."
Keith's note: I will be interviewed on CBC Radio this morning to talk about Guy Laliberté's flight. This is the schedule: 6:00 Sudbury, 6:20 am EDT Quebec City, 6:40 Thunder Bay, 7:00 Winnipeg, 7:10 Corner Brook, 7:30 Yellowknife, 7:50 Victoria, 8:15 Regina, 8:30 Kelowna, 8:40 Vancouver
I understand (from sources in the audience) that they had a great deal of trouble reaching the launchpad. First, the bus wheels all fell off at the same time, then the engine exploded in a cloud of confetti and after that the sides of the bus fell off too. Then, when boarding the spacecraft, Guy Laliberté's special baggy spacesuit was a real problem (I won't go into the, er, custard 'issue').
Bob Shaw