Crew Launches To Help Usher In New ISS Era

By Mark Carreau .

HOUSTON — Russia’s Soyuz TMA-02M/27S spacecraft lifted off from Central Asia on June 7, initiating a two-day trip to the International Space Station (ISS) for a three-man multinational crew prepared to transition the orbiting science laboratory from the shuttle dominated assembly/outfitting era to the utilization phase.

The second of Russia’s venerable spacecraft upgraded ...

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