LIVE: Soyuz TMA-16 launch - September 30, 2009

[John44]

 Expedition 21 - Spaceflight Participant Launch Replays
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5414

[jacqmans]

RELEASE: 09-226

NEW SPACE STATION CREW LAUNCHES; IN-ORBIT NEWS CONFERENCE SET

HOUSTON -- The next residents of the International Space Station
launched into orbit aboard a Soyuz spacecraft Wednesday from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA astronaut Jeff Williams,
Russian cosmonaut Max Suraev and spaceflight participant Guy
Laliberte lifted off at 2:14 a.m. CDT.

Future Expedition 22 Commander Williams, Soyuz Commander Suraev and
Laliberte are scheduled to dock with the station at 3:37 a.m.,
Friday, Oct. 2. They will spend nine days as members of a joint crew
that includes Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka, NASA's Mike
Barratt and Nicole Stott, the European Space Agency's Frank De Winne,
Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and the Canadian Space Agency's Bob
Thirsk.

The nine spacefarers will answer questions from reporters during a
news conference from the complex at 9:10 a.m. Oct. 6. The 30-minute
news conference will be divided for U.S. journalists at NASA centers,
Canadian media representatives at the Canadian Space Agency's
headquarters in Quebec and European reporters. It will be broadcast
live on NASA Television. For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and
downlink information, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/ntv


On Oct. 10, Padalka will transfer command of the station to De Winne,
who will become commander of the next station mission, designated
Expedition 21. Padalka, Barratt and Laliberte will land in Kazakhstan
at about 11:29 p.m. Padalka and Barratt have been aboard the orbiting
laboratory since March 2009.

Laliberte, a Canadian citizen and the founder of Cirque du Soleil, is
flying to the station under an agreement between the Russian Federal
Space Agency and Space Adventures, Ltd. He will spend nine days
aboard the orbiting laboratory.

For more information about the space station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

[jan_carlo_bascu]

And that is all

Great Coverage guys!!
Now I will go to sleep =)

[jacqmans]

Space Adventures Announces Founder of Cirque du Soleil Guy Laliberté

Successfully Launched to the International Space Station

First Canadian private space explorer will focus on water-related issues

Vienna, Va. – September 30, 2009 -- Space Adventures, Ltd., the only company currently providing human space mission opportunities to the world marketplace, today announced that its orbital client Guy Laliberté and his crew successfully launched aboard a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan en route to the International Space Station (ISS).  Laliberté joins the Expedition 21 crew, which includes Russian cosmonaut Maksim Surayev and NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams.

During his 10-day stay at the ISS, Mr. Laliberté will share information about water-related issues through an artistic and poetic mission, themed "Moving Stars and Earth for Water.” The message he transmits from space will raise awareness for the ONE DROP Foundation.  The centerpiece event will take place on October 9 from space and in 14 cities simultaneously around the world, beginning at 8:00 p.m. (ET).

Central to the mission is a poem written by Canadian author Yann Martel. The tale will be delivered piece by piece, one destination at a time. The event will broadcast live on onedrop.org.

“Traveling has always been my way of life and I have been researching the possibilities of space travel with Space Adventures since 2004. But I needed it to be the right time and for the right purpose. This is the time. And the purpose is clear: to raise awareness on water issues to humankind on planet earth,” said Guy Laliberté. “My mission is dedicated to making a difference on this vital resource by using what I know best: artistry. This will be the first poetic social mission in space.”

“The launch of Guy’s mission is the eighth orbital flight that we’ve facilitated and represents our continued commitment to providing spaceflight opportunities for private individuals.  Each of our clients is unique, but Guy is our first client who does not have a technical background.  Rather, he’s an artist, a performer . . . a creative genius,” said Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures.  “We’re proud that we are able to make his childhood dream a reality and look forward to assisting many others in their quest to fly to space as well.”


About Guy Laliberté

Guy Laliberté was born in Quebec City in 1959. An accordionist, stilt-walker and fire-breather, he founded Quebec's first internationally renowned circus with the support of a small group of accomplices. A bold visionary, Guy Laliberté recognized and cultivated the talents of the street performers from the Fête foraine de Baie-Saint-Paul and created Cirque du Soleil in 1984.

Since the very beginnings of Cirque du Soleil, Guy has insisted on having a social approach as part of the development of the company. Keenly aware that Cirque could play a role as agent of change, over 15 years ago, he created Cirque du Monde, an arts education program for street kids all over the world. He also chose to set up the International Headquarters and creative studios of Cirque du Soleil in the St. Michel district of Montreal, one of the poorest neighborhoods in North America, to stimulate a sense of local pride and ensure the revitalization of the area through artistic stimulation. This paved the way to TOHU, Cité des arts du Cirque, a project he initiated in the same neighborhood. Since early on he has also dedicated 1% of all revenues generated by Cirque du Soleil to social and cultural programs worldwide.

Guy was the first to orchestrate the marriage of cultures and artistic and acrobatic disciplines that is the hallmark of Cirque du Soleil. Since 1984, he has guided the creative team through the creation of every show and contributed to elevating the circus arts to the level of the great artistic disciplines.

In October 2007, Guy Laliberté entered into a second lifetime commitment by creating the ONE DROP Foundation to fight poverty around the world by providing sustainable access to safe water. This new initiative stems from the knowledge that the right to water is key to the survival of individuals and communities all over the world. It is inspired by the values which have been at the heart of Cirque du Soleil since its inception: the belief that life gives back what you have given and even the smallest gesture will make a difference. For more information, please visit www.onedrop.org.

[John44]

 Expedition 21- Spaceflight Participant Pre-Launch Activities Launch and Post-Launch Interviews from Baikonur
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5415

[ksc_houston]

Any preliminary TLE for tracking? Or times when it will be over Europe?

[Jeff Lerner]

Edit:  Am I the only one sick of the clown nose?

No, you're not the only one. Never heard of this guy or his circus, but Rob Navias is doing all he can to change that

For whatever it's worth, a Cirque de Soleil show is unlike any circus you've ever seen. I've had the pleasure of seeing a number of these shows in Montreal and Las Vegas and they have always been spectacular.

I've posted my thoughts on NSF before about this mission but just to restate, red clown noses aside, I expect it's going to be quite unlike any "space participant' mission we've seen in the past....should be fun..stay tuned..

[JimO]

I expect a tour de force of zero-G acrobatics that will introduce the world to a new art form of dance. This is going to blow the minds of earth dwellers.

[YesRushGen]

Man, even though it might not be as "sexy" as a shuttle launch, watching the Soyuz launches provides me with deep respect for the "just get it done" technique. Way to go!!!!

Also, with respect to Guy's spaceflight...

It is exceptionally cool that an artist is traveling in space. In a way, it reminds me of Ellie's remark, "...they should have sent a poet," in the film "Contact." Although a fictional quote, I feel like there's a lot of weight to that sentiment.

I recently read a description of art as, "...a medium through which emotion is communicated..." Because many people are deeply driven by their emotions, perhaps an artist's expressions of spaceflight will reach a wider demographic.


Kelly

[Lawntonlookirs]

Thanks for the coverage.

[ItsyAndy]

Any preliminary TLE for tracking? Or times when it will be over Europe?

Tracking data should be on heavens-above.com shortly. No passes over Europe expected though.

Ciao!

[jacqmans]

Launch photo's from NASA site:

http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-21/ndxpage14.html

[cd-slam]

I liked this photo which appeared on NASA PAO twitter page.
At first glance it looked like the sort of place that would be handy in case one of the cosmonauts needed to go in a hurry (and no bus tires handy).

But according to a comment it's just a storage facility. Wouldn't want to be in there during launch...

[Solar_OPS]

Edit:  Am I the only one sick of the clown nose?

No, you're not the only one. Never heard of this guy or his circus, but Rob Navias is doing all he can to change that

For whatever it's worth, a Cirque de Soleil show is unlike any circus you've ever seen. I've had the pleasure of seeing a number of these shows in Montreal and Las Vegas and they have always been spectacular.

I've posted my thoughts on NSF before about this mission but just to restate, red clown noses aside, I expect it's going to be quite unlike any "space participant' mission we've seen in the past....should be fun..stay tuned..

Bit off topic, but indeed, Cirque du Soleil is quite a concept in the circus world. I remember an IMAX movie featuring them I saw back in 2001 in Cape Town. You can see a promotional trailer here:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2410990/cirque_du_soleils_journey_of_man/

This might give you a feeling of what we can expect on Monday...

Another characteristic I remember from Cirque du Soleil is that they never use captive animals to "amuse" people, they stick to the human acrobats and clowns.

Looking forward to the event.

Thanks a lot for the coverage!

Denis

[JimO]

The reason I'm looking forward to his acrobatics is that in the real shows -- I've seen three different ones, they ARE expensive but worth it -- they already seem to defy gravity here on the planet's surface. The acrobats and dancers performed dynamics i never thought possible.

[eeergo]

Sorry to bump this thread after a month, but I was having a look at the launch photos in Flickr and noticed something I'd never seen before: hand-made writing on the LOX sections of the core and second stages. Have a look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/3974186651/sizes/o/in/set-72157622471446930/, for example.

They appear to be messages akin to those written on the fairing of other LVs (Proton, for instance) but quite bigger and more distinguishable. On the top one I think I can read something like Bano or Bacho (in cyrillic) and the date of the launch. The bottom one is clearer, and says "Rossi Forever" (meaning Russia, not Valentino ).

Just a fun note

[patchfree]

Sorry to bump this thread after a month, but I was having a look at the launch photos in Flickr and noticed something I'd never seen before: hand-made writing on the LOX sections of the core and second stages. Have a look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/3974186651/sizes/o/in/set-72157622471446930/, for example.

They appear to be messages akin to those written on the fairing of other LVs (Proton, for instance) but quite bigger and more distinguishable. On the top one I think I can read something like Bano or Bacho (in cyrillic) and the date of the launch. The bottom one is clearer, and says "Rossi Forever" (meaning Russia, not Valentino ).

Just a fun note

Nice observation!

[Cbased]

They appear to be messages akin to those written on the fairing of other LVs (Proton, for instance) but quite bigger and more distinguishable. On the top one I think I can read something like Bano or Bacho (in cyrillic) and the date of the launch.

I think it is "Vano" - a quite common Georgian name.
next line is "30.09" - launch date.

[SiberianTiger]

I think it is "Vano" - a quite common Georgian name.
next line is "30.09" - launch date.

Vano can't be ruled out, but common Russian name Vanya (the endearing form of Ivan) is more possible. Cyrillic graphics: ВАНЯ

[Satori]

Didn't saw this before... reporting almost from the launch pad...


http://www.youtube.com/v/5D26xtDrhTs&hl=pt_PT&fs=1&