Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk boarded the International Space Station today to begin a six-month stint as a member of its newly expanded crew of six. With him are two Russians, an American, a Belgian and a Japanese. When Julie Payette visits the station aboard Endeavour this summer it'll mark the first time that two Canadians have been together on the station, or in space, at the same time.
For the first time there are three Soyuz spacecraft docked at the station. Once NASA retires its space shuttles next year the Soyuz will be the only way up or down, until Orion starts flying in 2015 or 2016. NASA is due to fire off its first Ares 1-X suborbital test flight this fall, putting the agency at the point it was at in 1961 with Saturn/Apollo. The Europeans are talking about designing a new manned space capsule too, but at this point they're behind the Americans in developing one. It would be based on their Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo ferry, which has flown once. Once the space shuttle program is done, the Russians will also be the main cargo supplier to the station, with their unmanned Progress spacecraft. The Japanese are also developing a smaller, less independent cargo hauler to service the station, but as yet don't have the rocket to fly it.
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