The three astronauts that recently left our planet to hang around in orbit on the International Space Station will double the crew’s size. Once Belgian Frank De Winne, Russian Roman Romanenko and Canadian Robert Thirsk arrive on Friday, the crew will total six.
This move from three to six is a “milestone” according to this BBC report, saying that “A primary objective will be to assess how well such a large number of people live together in the cramped confines of the space station.”
It’s been a long time coming; as this story from 2007 reports – only now can the ISS fulfil its scientific potential since it’s on-orbit construction began in 1998.
The lofting of the three astronauts in a Soyuz TMA-15 craft from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, has picked up lots of press attention – Google news search brings up almost 1000, too many to list here, but a few for you to peruse at your pleasure listed here:
Image: NASA TV