First Brazilian astronaut succesfully enters International Space Station

When one hears about Brazil winning the World Cup, one says, “What’s new?” But when one here’s that a Brazilian enters space, one will probably yell, “What the f—?!”

Marco Pontes, who was just a few days ago reported to be the first brazilian to be included on the mission, is now actually in space — inside International Space Station.

Travelling with Russian Pavel Vinogradov and American Jeffrey Williams American, Pontes manned the Soyuz TMA-8 that docked automatically with the ISS at 0419 GMT.

It was Pontes carrying his country’s flag while smiling broadly, that entered first after the door was opened at 0559 GMT. The docking was greeted by applause at the control center, where a number of Brazilians were also present.

Traditionally it is the head of mission, in this case Vinogradov, who enters first. But the Russian gave way for his Brazilian counterpart as he make history for his country. The trio joined William MacArthur, another American, and Valery Tokarev, a Russian, who have been on the ISS since October 2005.

After taking off from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday, the 43-year-old air force officer will return alone to Earth On April 9; his two companions are to stay behind for six more months as they handle the only space station operating since the closure of Russia’s Mir orbiter in 2001.

During the mission, Pontes will carry out scientific experiments, some of them in the field of nanotechnology. He will also examine Brazil’s surface from space.
When one hears about Brazil winning the World Cup, one says, “What’s new?” But when one here’s that a Brazilian enters space, one will probably yell, “What the f—?!”

Marco Pontes, who was just a few days ago reported to be the first brazilian to be included on the mission, is now actually in space — inside International Space Station.

Travelling with Russian Pavel Vinogradov and American Jeffrey Williams American, Pontes manned the Soyuz TMA-8 that docked automatically with the ISS at 0419 GMT.

It was Pontes carrying his country’s flag while smiling broadly, that entered first after the door was opened at 0559 GMT. The docking was greeted by applause at the control center, where a number of Brazilians were also present.

Traditionally it is the head of mission, in this case Vinogradov, who enters first. But the Russian gave way for his Brazilian counterpart as he make history for his country. The trio joined William MacArthur, another American, and Valery Tokarev, a Russian, who have been on the ISS since October 2005.

After taking off from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday, the 43-year-old air force officer will return alone to Earth On April 9; his two companions are to stay behind for six more months as they handle the only space station operating since the closure of Russia’s Mir orbiter in 2001.

During the mission, Pontes will carry out scientific experiments, some of them in the field of nanotechnology. He will also examine Brazil’s surface from space.