NASA’s Kevin Ford to board Russian Soyuz spacecraft for mission to International Space Station: ‘should be a great experience’

In just a few weeks, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft will launch from Russia to the International Space Station and an American astronaut will be aboard. NASA’s Kevin Ford will be join the Russian team as the Expedition Commander of its  during their five month stay at the ISS. The expedition will mark Ford's second space flight, and his first aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Ford comes to “Early Start” this morning live from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star city, Russia, where he and his crew mates have been preparing, to talk about the upcoming mission to the ISS.

Ford says the plan is “to carry out a lot of science.” “We’ve had a lot of training on maybe 30 or 40 crew-intensive science projects that we’ll do on board that have to do with fluid dynamics, combustion, medicine, human science, various kinds of things, osteoporosis,” he explains. “They’re all very involved when you do them in zero g.”

Having travelled to space before, Ford contrasts this upcoming trip to his previous experience. This one will land on ground instead of water and will spin throughout the entire re-entry. Ford says the Soyuz is a “very different system of transportation but one that I’m really confident and I’m looking forward to riding in. He says “it should be a great experience.”