Soyuz Launch to ISS Set for Sunday Dec. 20

NASA-TV will webcast the launch of the Soyuz TMA-17 to the International Space Station (ISS) on December 20, 2009 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:51 p.m. EST. Launch coverage begins at 4 p.m. Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov, NASA Flight Engineer Timothy J. (T.J.) Creamer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi will be transported to the ISS to commence Expedition 22 on orbit with arrival set for Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 5:58 EST.

Kotov, Creamer and Noguchi will join Expedition 22 Commander Jeff Williams of NASA and Russian Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev, who have been on the orbiting complex since October.