SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
*Crew Moves Soyuz to Prep for New Arrivals*
The Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft undocks Image above: The Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft undocks from the station's Zarya module. Image credit: NASA TV
TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
The Expedition 14 crew aboard the International Space Station welcomed an off-duty day Friday after a busy week of preparations for the arrival of the next crew in April.
Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Suni Williams boarded their Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft and undocked it from the Earth-facing port of the station's Zarya module at 6:30 p.m. EDT Thursday. With Tyurin at the controls, the craft was maneuvered to the aft port of the Zvezda module and docked at 6:54 p.m.
The move was made to clear the Zarya port for the arrival of Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov, along with spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi on April 9.
+ Read more about the Soyuz relocation http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_soyuz_relocation_032907.html
On Tuesday, the unpiloted Progress 23 cargo craft was undocked from the aft port of the Zvezda service module. The cargo craft, filled with trash and unneeded items from the station, was commanded several hours after undocking to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up over the Pacific Ocean.
The crew also continued science research aboard the orbital outpost this week, including a successful run with the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) experiment. During a session with SPHERES, Williams set up a test in which three of the bowling-ball sized satellites flew together in formation within the station cabin for the first time.