Spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi
of the U.S. is seen through the hatch of the Russian Soyuz TMA-10
spacecraft after docking with the International Space Station in this
televised view from NASA TV April 9, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo)
MOSCOW, April 9 (Xinhua) -- A Russian spaceship
carrying two astronauts and the fifth space tourist docked with the
International Space Station (ISS) Monday evening after hurtling two days in
space.
The Soyuz TMA-10 ship, which soared into the sky over
the Central Asian steppe last Saturday with a two-man crew of the ISS and a
Hungarian-born American tourist, hooked up with the space station at 11:10 p.m.
Moscow time (1910 GMT).
The hatch will open about one hour later and then the
astronauts can enter the space station.
Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov,
the 15th crew for the ISS, with the U.S. tourist Charles Simonyi manned the
vessel that set off at 9:31 p.m. Moscow time (1731 GMT) from the Baikonur
cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The 58-year-aged Simonyi, a software tycoon, will
stay in orbit for 12 days, and then return with the 14th ISS resident crew
Mikhail Tyurin and Michael Lopez-Alegria. The trip reportedly cost the
Hungary-born American 25 million U.S. dollars.
BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Charles Simonyi, the
world's fifth paying space tourist, will treat his ISS colleagues to a gourmet
space meal picked by his "best friend," U.S. lifestyle maven Martha Stewart,
media reports said Sunday.
The menu includes quail roasted in Madiran wine, duck
breast confit with capers, shredded chicken parmentier, apple fondant pieces,
rice pudding with candied fruit, and semolina cake with dried apricots.
MOSCOW, April 7 (Xinhua) -- A Russian Soyuz spaceship is
set to blast off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Saturday evening
to send two cosmonauts and the fifth space tourist to the International Space
Station (ISS).
Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov, the 15th crew for the ISS, with the U.S. tourist Charles Simonyi will man the vessel that is scheduled to be launched at 9:31 p.m. Moscow time (1731 GMT).