[COMMENTATOR] You’re looking at a view from an external television camera of the International
Space Station to the engineering cross-haired black and white camera on the outside of the
TMA-03M.
Now just two km away, soon to begin its fly-around for a precise alignment and a few minutes
of stationkeeping to enable Russian flight controllers to precisely assess the alignment
of the forward docking probe on the Soyuz with the Rassvet module.
[RUSSIAN]
[TRANSLATOR] We have fly-around.
Okay, Andre.
10 R 5 1.
R 5 1.
[COMMENTATOR] And as you can hear through the translation from the crew members onboard
the Soyuz, the fly-around of the International Space Station has begun.
This is expected to be about a six-minute procedure to align the Soyuz with the Rassvet
module, It will also conduct a roll maneuver that will align its solar arrays in a non-interference
mode with the docking port on the Earth-facing side of the Zarya module.
[TRANSLATOR] Range is zero eight zero,
zero five seven is range rate.
We’re currently rotating…
[COMMENTATOR] A pretty portrait of Northwest Africa, as the Soyuz orbits at an altitude
of 249 statute miles, beginning its roll program to orient its solar arrays in the proper attitude
for the station keeping and then its final approach for docking to the Rassvet module.
The fly-around continuing at this hour.
[TRANSLATOR] Go ahead.
Anton we have [inaudible] on the vehicle.
[COMMENTATOR] The visiting vehicle officer confirms that final approach has now been
initiated on computer command.
[TRANSLATOR] [inaudible] station keeping just in case so you, but do not send it.
Andre, open the approach, approach rate,
press zero, zero again, four, and put the arrow on station keeping but do not send it.
Just make sure that the arrow points to station keeping.
Okay the arrow’s pointing to station keeping.
[COMMENTATOR] Soyuz and the International Space Station flying over the Mediterranean,
about to cross the western coast of Italy, passing just to the south of Rome.
[RUSSIAN]
[COMMENTATOR] This television from the Soyuz now over Russian ground stations, 20 meters
away.
[TRANSLATOR] The range rate is zero… zero one five.
[COMMENTATOR] You can see the cross-haired camera as the Kurs system brings the docking
probe into alignment with the docking target, and now just seven meters away from docking,
standing by for contact and capture of the International Space Station.
[TRANSLATOR] Zero one one range rate.
The target is in the center.
Zero one one range rate.
Expecting contact.
We have contact.
We have capture.
We have…
[COMMENTATOR] Docking confirmed at 9:19 a.m.
Central time over Southern Russia.
Docking confirmed.
The Soyuz slides down the chimney of the International Space Station with an early Christmas present
for the Expedition 30 crew: a return to a steady-state six-person crew capability.