Launching Wednesday: New Station Crew, Space Tourist

[mickw]

Two new space station crewmembers and Canada's first space tourist are due to launch into space Wednesday on a Russian rocket.

The three spaceflyers are set to blast off on the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 3:14 a.m. EDT (0714 GMT).

Veteran NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and Maxim Suraev, a rookie Russian cosmonaut, are scheduled to take up long-term residence on the International Space Station (ISS) as Expedition 21 crewmembers. Their Soyuz crewmate, billionaire space tourist Guy Laliberte, plans to stay aboard the station for about 10 days before flying home. Laliberte is an acrobat and the founder of Cirque du Soleil, and plans to devote his trip to raising awareness of global water issues. Click here for SPACE.com's full profile of Laliberte.

The three spaceflyers arrived at Baikonur on Sept. 18 and have been undergoing final training and preparations.

"Everything is progressing smoothly," Williams wrote Monday on his blog (http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/2089). "Several of us have been running in the desert every day, crossing paths with camels, cows, goats, wild horses, and the occasional shepherd."

They are due to dock at the space station Friday at 4:37 a.m. EDT (0837 GMT).

More:   http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/090929-expedition21-launch-preview.html