SPACE WIRE
Russian, American and Dutch astronaut to blast off on April 19
STAR CITY, Russia (AFP) Mar 31, 2004
Three astronauts will blast off for the International Space Station (ISS) on April 19, two of them to replace the team which has been there since last October, officials at the Russian space agency said Wednesday.

Russian Gennady Padalka and American Mikhael Fincke will replace Alexei Kalery and Michael Foale, and will spend six months at the station, officials said.

Dutchman Andre Kuipers, a 45-year-old astronaut with the European Space Agency, will spend less than two weeks at the station. He is due to return to earth with Kalery and Foale on April 30.

The trio recently completed preparations for the mission at Star City, an astronaut training center outside the Russian capital Moscow.

"We've worked hard, I haven't even had time to phone my friends," Kuipers told reporters at a press conference. "Now we can rest a bit."

The three are due to blast off for the ISS aboard a Soyuz rocket from Russia's launching pad in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

"My family, my daughters and my parents will be in Baikonur on the day of the takeoff," said Kuipers, who will be making his first trip into space.

Padalka and Fincke are due to perform two space walks in June and August to install equipment necessary for the European-built new automated transfer vehicle, which is due to arrive at the station in April 2005.

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