Article Posted on : - Dec 03, 2009

Soyuz TMA-15 launched on 27 May 2009 arrives at ISS on 29 May. Image Credit: ESA

NEW DELHI (BNS): A new crew is all set for an expedition to the International Space Station (ISS), on board a Soyuz TMA-17 carrier rocket on December 21.

The Russian government has approved the basic and back-up crews for the ISS expedition. The Soyuz TMA-17 will blast off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.

The crew members include Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, NASA astronaut Timothy Creamer and Japan's Soichi Noguchi while the back-up crew comprises Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock and Japan's Satoshi Furukawa.

According to a report by Ria Novostsi, the crew passed the exams at the ground simulators of the ISS and the Soyuz booster.

A Soyuz-TMA-15 space capsule carrying three astronauts from the International Space Station successfully landed in north Kazakhstan on Tuesday. Currently, NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams and Russia's Maxim Surayev, are on the world’s only orbiting platform.