[FPSPACE] Soyuz TMA-12 docking with ISS on APOD

[LARRY KLAES]

A Supply Ship Docks with the International Space Station

Credit: ISS Expedition 16 Crew, NASA

Explanation: Looking out a window of the International Space Station brings 
breathtaking views. Visible vistas include a vast and colorful Earth, a deep 
dark sky, and an occasional spaceship sent to visit the station. Visible 
early last month was a Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft carrying not only supplies 
but also three newcomers. The three new astronauts were Expedition 17 
commander Sergei Volkov, flight engineer Oleg Kononenko, and spaceflight 
participant So-yeon Yi. Yi returned to Earth a few days later, while Volkov 
and Konenenko are scheduled to return in a few months. The docking module 
pictured above involved the Pirs Docking Compartment. The Expedition 17 
crew, including NASA flight engineer Gregory Chamitoff, will carry out 
repairs on the ISS, explore new methods of living in space, and conduct 
research in space including the effects of space radiation on vitamin 
molecules.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080514.html