...for the launch from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for the Russian space agency Roscosmos said. “The launch of the carrier rocket Soyuz-FG with the piloted spacecraft Soyuz TMA-06M is scheduled for October 23 at 14:51 Moscow time [10:51 GMT],” the spokesman said. The separation of the piloted spacecraft from the third and final stage of the Soyuz-FG carrier rocket is slated for 15:00 Moscow time (11:00 GMT). The docking of the Soyuz TMA-06M with the ISS is scheduled for October 25th at 16:51 Moscow time (12:51 GMT) in an automated mode.

Soyuz TMA spacecraft docked with ISS

Photo courtesy of RIA Novosti

The ISS Expedition 33/34 comprises two Russian cosmonauts—Commander Oleg Novitsky and Flight Engineer Yevgeny Tarelkin; as well as NASA astronaut—Flight Engineer Kevin Ford. This will be Novitsky and Tarelkin's first time in space; however, Ford already has space experience, flying on an American shuttle in 2009. This will be the first time Ford travels to the ISS on a Russian Soyuz rocket. They will join the current crew consisting of NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko and Japan’s Akihiko Hoshide. (Source: RIA Novosti).