Expedition 14’s Space Station Crew Shuffle

Williams,too, will stay on to join the Expedition 15 mission after Lopez-Alegria andTyurin return to Earth in March 2007.

"I think I'mgoing to be very lucky to be up there with Expedition 14 first and then withExpedition 15 later on," Williams told reporters in a preflight interview,adding that the next ISS crew will include two Russian cosmonauts and she isnot completely fluent in the Russian language. "I feel a little bit intimidatedby the language, so it will be nice to have that initial time onboard."

Reiter, whomade the shift between Expedition13 and Expedition 14 crews recently, said there is an advantage in swappingout astronauts in stages.

"In previous years this handover period was always a kind ofcritical time because there is a lot to do in these few days when both crewsare still on station," Reiter said in a NASA interview. "The crew that has beenon station needs to explain to the newcomers how all the on board systems areconfigured, where things are stowed and so forth. Once they are gone the only,only place they can ask is the control center."

Butwhen at least one ISS astronaut remains behind during a crew swap, the newstation residents have nearby source of information to tap as questions arise,Reiter said.

"I'm totallyecstatic because of the reality that this is getting a little bit closer,"Williams said of her spaceflight.

• GALLERY: Launch Day for Expedition 14 Crew, Anousheh Ansari
• GALLERY: Anousheh Ansari Prepares for Launch
• Anousheh Ansari: First Female Private Space 'Explorer' Visits ISS
• Complete Coverage: ISS Expedition 14