Follow the Cervantes mission on-line

The launch of ESA’s Cervantes mission to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is currently scheduled for 18 October at 11:37 local time (05:37 GMT – 07:37 Central European Summer Time). Docking with the ISS is scheduled for 20 October at 11:11 Moscow time (07:11 GMT – 09:11 CEST).

ESA astronaut Pedro Duque, a Spaniard, starts this 10-day mission in company with the NASA astronaut Michael Foale and the Russian Alexander Kaleri, the next ISS crew.

The main objectives of this flight are to deliver a new Soyuz vehicle to the ISS to be used as a rescue vehicle by the crew on board, relieve the Expedition-7 crew (the American Edward Lu and the Russian Yuri Malenchenko) and perform a series of experiments on board.

Read all about this mission on the special Cervantes Mission site.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cervantes_mission/