Replacement Crew Headed for Space Station

A replacement crew for the International Space Station roared into space Saturday atop a Russian rocket, the only means of getting there after the U.S. shuttle program was halted in February.

The three-man crew – U.S. astronaut Michael Foale, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri and Spanish astronaut Pedro Duque – are to reach the space station after a two-day trip. Foale will be the first American to have done missions on both the space station and its predecessor, the Russian Mir.

The Soyuz-FG rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the main launch site for Russia’s space program, three days after China launched its first manned spaceflight.

It was the second manned space launch from Baikonur since the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated in February, putting the U.S. space program on hold.

Since the Columbia disaster, U.S. space agency has been dependent on the Russians to keep its astronaut corps flying. The European Space Agency, which lacks its own means to launch astronauts, also regularly buys seats on the non-reusable Russian spacecraft.

The new space station responsibilities have put a strain on the Russian space program’s budget but also have boosted the prestige of an agency that was derided a few years ago for becoming a provider of expensive junkets for rich space tourists.

“Our Russian partners stepped up at a time when we needed them the most. They are shouldering a particularly heavy burden and we are grateful for that,” NASA administrator Sean O’Keefe said in Baikonur.

Segei Gorbunov, a spokesman for the Russian space agency Rosaviakosmos, said, “This shows the high level and consistent stability of Russian space technology. We are happy to have the opportunity to help our partners in the space station.”

Although the Soyuz has easily stepped in as the “ferry” to the international space station, the shuttle’s absence is starting to cause some problems. The Russians had planned to launch a Progress cargo vessel – full of food, water and other supplies – this fall, but that has been postponed. Russia has scrambled to prepare more Progress ships to meet the supply demands typically fulfilled by the much larger shuttle.

Nikolai Zelenshchikov, deputy director of the RKK Energiya space complex which builds the spacecraft, on Friday blamed a lack of promised funding from the state. He said he hoped it would fly by early next year.

There was a smattering of applause among the approximately 200 spectators at the launch site when the rocket roared into the air, then silence fell until the announcement nine minutes later that the spacecraft had entered orbit. Then, the crowd clapped loudly and Russian space officials brought out celebratory cognac.

“It was just so beautiful,” said Foale’s wife Rhonda. “It felt good and I’m glad he’s having a good time up there.”

Duque’s mother, Andrea, sat quietly, clutching a cane, and tears shone in her eyes when the crew reached orbit.

Foale, 46, spent four months on Russia’s now-scrapped Mir space station in 1997 and did a spacewalk to repair damage caused by a collision with a Progress supply ship.

American astronaut Ed Lu and Russian Yuri Malenchenko, who have been in space since April, will head home on Oct. 28 with Duque aboard another Soyuz that is already docked at the station.

Duque, whose first foray into space was aboard the U.S. shuttle Discovery in 1998 with former astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn, plans to spend his eight days on the station carrying out experiments.

Malenchenko, who left the planet as a single man, will return as a husband. He caused a stir by getting married in August while aboard the space station.