11:26 GMT (7:26 am EDT): Successful separation of Soyuz TMA-12 its 2 day long rendezvous course to the ISS.
11:25 GMT (7:25 am EDT): Shut-down of the upper stage.
11:21 GMT (7:21 am EDT): Main engine cutoff and separation of the core stage. The upper stage ignited and will burn for about 4 minutes.
11:19 GMT (7:19 am EDT): The payload fairing is jettisoned. As the rocket reached over 80 kilometers altitude and left the dense atmosphere, this cover is no longer needed.
11:18 GMT (7:18 am EDT): The 4 strap-on boosters are burnt out and jettisioned.
11:16 GMT (7:16 am EDT): Liftoff of the Soyuz TMA-12 carrying Expedition 17 crew to the ISS.
11:15 GMT (7:15 am EDT): T-1. Everything is ready for the launch of the Soyuz rocket.
11:10 GMT (7:10 am EDT): T-6: Launch control is given to the automatic launch sequence.
11:01 GMT (7:01 am EDT): 15 minutes remaining until the launch. Everything is currently on go.
10:42 GMT (6:42 am EDT): There seems to be a broken zipper on Volkov’s spacesuit. After a short pressure loss the problem had been solved, so the countdown continues.
10:31 GMT (6:31 am EDT): The launch is 45 minutes away and the flight programme is loaded into the onboard computers.
8:17 GMT (4:17 am EDT): 3 hours until launch. The fueling of the Soyuz rocket has begun. The weather is good for launch.
April 8, 2008
April 7, 2008: The Soyuz FG rocket stands ready with the TMA-12 capsule on its launch pad in Baikonur.
Soyuz TMA-12 will carry Expedition 17 crew to the ISS. ISS-17 commander – test cosmonaut of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, RF Air Force Lieutenant-Colonel Sergey Alexandrovich Volkov leads the mission with spacecraft flight engineer, ISS-17 flight engineer – S.P. Korolev RSC Energia test cosmonaut Oleg Dmitrievich Kononenko and spaceflight participant of the ISS visiting crew, South Korea citizen, So Yeon Yi. Expedition 16 flight engineer Garrett Reisman, already onboard the station, will then transfer to the Expedition 17 crew.
The launch is scheduled for 11:16 GMT on April 8 (7:16 a.m. EDT).
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