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OasISS mission heading to ISS with ESA astronaut Frank De Winne


Launch Soyuz TMA-15
 
The Soyuz TMA-15 launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:34 CEST on 27 May 2009 carrying Expedition 20 crewmembers ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk to the International Space Station. They are scheduled to arrive at the ISS at 14:36 CEST on Friday 29 May 2009.

Soyuz TMA-15 crew wave goodbye to the crowd
 
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk and ESA astronaut Frank De Winne wave goodbye to the crowd gathered at the foot of the Soyuz launch pad stairs as they prepare for the Soyuz TMA-15 launch at 12:34 CEST on 27 May 2009 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

Soyuz TMA-15 crew dressed in their Russian Sokol suits
 
The Soyuz TMA-15 crew dressed in their Russian Sokol suits in preparation for launch to the International Space Station at 12:34 CEST on 27 May 2009 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Left to right: Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko.

Frank De Winne shortly after leaving the Cosmonaut Hotel
 
ESA astronaut Frank De Winne shortly after leaving the Cosmonaut Hotel at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on 27 May 2009. Together with Soyuz TMA-15 crewmates Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, De Winne was taken from the hotel to building 254 where they will don their flights suits in preparation for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station at 12:34 CEST.

Soyuz TMA-15 crew and back-up crew at press conference
 
Soyuz TMA-15 crew at the pre-launch press conference at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on 26 May 2009. The Soyuz TMA-15 spacecraft is scheduled for launch at 12:34 CEST on 27 May 2009. Left to right: Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield (back-up to Thirsk), Russian cosmonaut Dmitri Kondratiev (back-up to Romanenko) and ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers (back-up to De Winne).

International Space Station seen from Discovery
 
Backdropped by the blackness of space and the thin line of Earth's atmosphere, the International Space Station is seen from Space Shuttle Discovery as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation. Earlier the STS-119 and Expedition 18 crews concluded 9 days, 20 hours and 10 minutes of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 20:53 CET on 25 March 2009.



Release date: 12 August 2009