Russian TV Reports on Space Flight, Shuttle Launch Plan

Text of report by Russian Channel One TV on 1 April

[Presenter] A new crew is at work in Earth’s orbit from today after, several hours ago, a Soyuz spacecraft successfully docked with the space station. Sergey Babayev reports from Mission Control Centre:

[Correspondent] Mission Control Centre’s gallery today resembled a stand at a football stadium: Hundreds of Brazilians came to support their first cosmonaut, Marcos Pontes. In fact, a docking is among the most complicated manoeuvres in orbit. It is almost like trying to hit one bullet with another. The station hurtles forward at eight kilometres a second. The spacecraft, meanwhile, has to be controlled in three dimensions at once and its speed has to be maintained.

Cosmonauts are always ready to take control over the process. Today, however, it was all done automatically.

[Voice on intercom] Contact is made. Mechanical grip is established.

[Correspondent] After multiple checks, the hatch between the spacecraft and the space station is opened and the new arrivals float into the ISS [International Space Station]. Hugs were interrupted by an alarmed mission controller: Have you not forgotten someone? The cosmonauts were about to go back into the spacecraft, only to realize it was an April Fool.

Although Pavel Vinogradov and Jeffrey Williams have been left with just one space walk instead of three, they have a full scientific programme of 65 experiments. In addition, it is possible that this crew will be joined by a space shuttle.

[Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator] A launch is scheduled for 1 July. We have a launch window between 1 and 19 July.

[Aleksey Krasnov, Roskosmos (Russian Space Agency) manned space flight chief] We are fine for supplies virtually until the end of this year even if there are no shuttle flights. If there is not a single shuttle flight this year, then additional measures will have to be taken to supply the crew of the station with consumables.

[Correspondent] Australia must have watched this docking with particular envy. After all, of all the continents, it is the only one not to have a cosmonaut of its own. We know now, however, that two more nations will join the space club in the next few years.

[Krasnov] Our plan is, we expect that accords will be reached this year with Malaysia. Plus negotiations with the Republic of Korea are also on our agenda.

[Correspondent] The first Brazilian in space, Marcos Pontes, will come back to Earth in a week’s time together with the station’s outgoing crew. Meanwhile, Pavel Vinogradov and Jeffrey Williams have a six-month flight ahead of them.

[Video: Brazilian flags and insignia inside Mission Control Centre; its main screen; a schematic of docking; a TV screen of docking manoeuvre; cosmonauts inside spacecraft]