Soyuz Readied for Launch to ISS 12 AM Friday

The ISS Expedition 23 Soyuz TMA-18 Launch Coverage on NASA-TV will commece at 11:15 PM April 1, 2010 with the launch set for 12:04 a.m. EDT April 2 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan; launch replays follow) with a NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts to the orbiting International Space Station.

Armed police with sniffer dogs walked ahead of the train and a helicopter circled overhead as the Soyuz booster rolled to the pad and was erected for the final launch campaign of the Soyuz TMA-18 amid heightened security following the Moscow subway bombings, which killed dozens of people [Russia Today].

The three Soyuz space flyers departing Friday will join three crew members currently aboard the space station — Russian commander Igor Kotov, NASA astronaut Timothy J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi of Japan. Within days of the Soyuz docking at the space station, a U.S. space shuttle with seven people on board will launch from the Kennedy Space Center (April 5, 2010) and it is due to arrive for a brief visit, ensuring a busy time for the Soyuz newcomers.