Russia - Inglese

Russian Craft Docks With Space Station

[NYT - Europe]

The Russian Soyuz craft bearing the first woman to command the International Space Station, Peggy A. Whitson, left, docked with the station. The capsule ferried Dr. Whitson; Col. Yuri I. Malenchenko, a Russian flight engineer; and Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Malaysia’s first astronaut. This is Ms. Whitson’s second six-month stay on the station; she served as a science officer aboard the orbiting laboratory in 2002. The change of command will occur Oct. 19, and she will greet the crew of the shuttle Discovery, which is expected to launch Oct. 23. The Discovery will also be commanded by a woman, Col. Pamela A. Melroy, retired from the Air Force, and will carry a new module to the station.