Dec 21, 2011

Michael Curie Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100 michael curie@nasa gov

Kelly Humphries Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 kelly o humphries@nasa gov

RELEASE: 11-425

TRIO HEADS FOR HOLIDAY REUNION WITH SPACE STATION RESIDENTS

HOUSTON -- NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit, Russian Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko and European Space Agency Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers of the Netherlands launched to the International Space Station aboard their Soyuz TMA-03M craft at 7:16 a m CST Wednesday, Dec 21 (7:16 p m local time), from Kazakhstan

Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers are scheduled to dock to the Rassvet module of the station at 9:22 a m Friday, Dec 23 They will receive a holiday welcome from station Commander Dan Burbank of NASA and Russian Flight Engineers Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin, who have been aboard the orbital laboratory since mid-November

NASA Television will provide live docking coverage beginning at 8:45 a m Friday Hatch opening and welcoming ceremonies will occur about three hours later

Upon arrival, Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers will become members of Expedition 30, restoring the station's crew complement to six They will continue scientific research and christen a new era of commercial resupply services from the United States, greeting the first SpaceX Dragon spaceship in mid-February A Russian spacewalk to continue external assembly and maintenance of the station also is planned during Expedition 30

Burbank, Shkaplerov and Ivanishin are scheduled to return to Earth in March, and Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers will return home in May For more information about the International Space Station and its crew, visit:

http://www nasa gov/station

To follow Twitter updates from Expedition 30 commander Burbank and flight engineer Pettit, visit:

http://twitter com/AstroCoastie

and

http://twitter com/AstroPettit

For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit:

http://www nasa gov/ntv

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