An Amazing Way To Spend The Holidays

While the rest of the world was sitting down to holiday dinner, five travelers were overhead experiencing a spectacular view that no one can match. The five residents of the International Space Station were busy with crew orientation activities as the Christmas holidays started and the new Expedition 22 crew members began familiarizing themselves with their home in space.

The three new crew members, Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer, Oleg Kotov and Soichi Noguchi, along with Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev, conducted emergency response training and talked with ground controllers on Earth.

Creamer, Kotov and Noguchi arrived at the station Tuesday aboard the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Dec. 20. Creamer, 50, is making his first flight into space. Selected as an astronaut in 1998, Creamer was a support astronaut for the Expedition 3 crew and worked with hardware integration and robotics.

Kotov, 44, is making his second spaceflight, having previously served six months aboard the station as an Expedition 15 flight engineer in 2007. Kotov will be a flight engineer for Expedition 22 and assume the duties of Expedition 23 commander when Williams and Suraev depart in March 2010.

Noguchi is making his second spaceflight. He flew on the STS-114 return-to-flight mission of Discovery in 2005 and conducted three spacewalks totaling more than 20 hours.

Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev (left) and Commander Jeff Williams (front row).
Behind them, L-R, are Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov, T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi.

The crew had an off-duty day Friday for Christmas, where we expect "the new guys" spent more than a few minutes looking through the hatches at the Earth below. This weekend, the crew continues conducting regular science, maintenance and exercise activities. They also will enjoy additional off-duty time and some opportunities to speak with family members.

FMI: www.nasa.gov