Expedition 13 Under Way

Expedition 13's ham radio duo, Commander Pavel Vinogradov RV3BS and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams KD5TVQ, got in their first full working day alone aboard the International Space Station Tuesday.

They did maintenance activities, talked with two news organizations and participants in a children's aerospace conference in Russia, and completed their regular 2½ hours of daily exercise. They also continued their familiarization with the station.

After their March 30 launch and April 1 docking, they spent about eight days on handover activities with their Expedition 12 predecessors, then had off-duty days Sunday and Monday.

Expedition 12's Commander Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev remain in Star City, Russia, near Moscow. They are undergoing debriefing and physical rehabilitation after almost 190 days in space before their Saturday landing in Kazakhstan.

With them is Marcos Pontes, Brazil's first astronaut. He launched with Expedition 13 and returned with Expedition 12 after performing a series of scientific experiments.

Expedition 12 is scheduled to return to NASA's Johnson Space Center later this month

Image above: Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur KC5ACR waits onboard a helicopter before transferring to an airplane for a flight back to Moscow from Kustanay, Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls