U.S.-Russian ISS crew includes ex-Tenn. athlete
BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan — A U.S.-Russian crew that includes a former Tennessee college athlete flying his third NASA mission has blasted off successfully for the International Space Station.
Barry "Butch" Wilmore, 51, who grew up in the Una neighborhood southeast of Nashville, joined Russians Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova in the Russian Soyuz-TMA14M spacecraft that lifted off as scheduled at 4:25 p.m. ET from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz entered a designated orbit in about 10 minutes after the launch. About six hours later it docked with the orbiting outpost, joining an international crew of three already at the station.
Samokutyaev has already flown to space, but Serova is on her first mission. She is the first Russian woman to fly to space since 1997, and the fourth woman in the history of the Soviet and Russian space programs. Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in 1963.
In November Wilmore will assume command of the six-month mission, which will end in March 2015.
Wilmore was an outstanding high school linebacker and recruited by a handful of small schools. He ended up attending Tennessee Tech because of the school's engineering program. He walked on with the football team and quickly became a starter.
As a senior, Wilmore recorded 143 total tackles, which ranks third on the school's all-time single-season tackles list. In 2003 Wilmore was inducted into the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
Wilmore is a Navy pilot who has logged 259 hours in space. After joining NASA in 2000 he flew aboard the space shuttle Atlantis and in 2009 piloted his first space shuttle flight.
He expects a much different trip this time.
"During the shuttle mission, roughly two weeks in length, there was a lot to do in a short period of time," Wilmore said. "They pack the schedule full to get everything done that you need to get done. It leaves very little self time to just look out the window; I think the most time I had to sit and look out was maybe 20 minutes. So I look forward to sticking my nose in the window for at least two revolutions around the earth, for about three hours, and watching the beauty of the earth go by."
Since the retirement of the U.S. space shuttle fleet in 2011, Russian Soyuz spacecraft have served as the only means to ferry crew to and from the space outpost, the latest price tag being $71 million per seat.
Earlier this month, NASA made a major step toward ending the period of expensive dependence on Russian spacecraft, picking Boeing and SpaceX to transport astronauts to the station in the next few years. The California-based SpaceX, led by billionaire Elon Musk, has indicated its seats will cost $20 million apiece.
NASA has set a goal of 2017 for the first launch from Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX is already using its unmanned Dragon capsule to deliver supplies to the space station, and is developing its manned version.
Contributing: The Associated Press