First Brazilian astronaut arrives at space station
A Soyuz capsule docked with the international space station today, bringing Brazil’s first astronaut, a new Russian-American crew and a fresh load of supplies, equipment and experiments.
Two days after blasting off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the TMA-8 capsule arrived at the orbiting station and latched on just after 4.19am Irish time, guided into place by computers.
Applause broke out at Russia’s Mission Control Centre in Korolyov, outside Moscow, as the capsule made contact.
Cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov and astronaut Jeffrey Williams, who will replace the current crew for six months on the orbiting station, were joined on the trip by Brazil’s first man in space, Marcos Pontes, who will return to Earth on April 9.
The crew was to spend about an hour and a half checking systems before opening the air locks and seeing the station’s current crew, Russian Valery Tokarev and American Bill McArthur, face to face.
