NASA And Partners Assign Crews For Upcoming Space Station Missions

NASA and its international partners, the Russia Federal Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), have assigned four new International Space Station crews. The crews include NASA astronauts Joe Acaba, Sunita Williams and Kevin Ford. Acaba was born in Inglewood, Calif., and raised in Anaheim, Calif. Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio, but considers Needham, Mass., her hometown. Ford was born in Portland, Ind., and considers Montpelier, Ind., his hometown.

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Konenenko, European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers and NASA astronaut Don Pettit were previously announced as Expedition 31 crew members. Expedition 31 begins when Soyuz 28 undocks from the station in March 2012.

Soyuz 30 is set to launch in April 2012 with the following crew members who have been added to Expedition 31:
-- NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, flight engineer
-- Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, flight engineer
-- Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Valkov, flight engineer (Soyuz 30)

For More News: http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/jul/HQ_10-161_New_ISS_Crews.html