By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Baikonur (Kazakhstan) : A three-member crew to lift-off Tuesday for the International Space Station (ISS) has been confirmed.
Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Yevgeny Tarelkin, and NASA astronaut Kevin Ford will depart from the Baikonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft will carry them to the ISS and will dock at the space station Oct 25. Novitsky has been named the commander of the new mission on the ISS.
“We are prepared to complete our mission,” Ford said after being confirmed a member.
This will be Novitsky and Tarelkin’s first time in space; however, Ford already has space experience, flying on an American shuttle in 2009.
They will join the current crew consisting of NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko and Japan’s Akihiko Hoshide.