The Russian Soyuz spacecraft ready for launch to the ISS

The Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-05M, with three cosmonauts aboard, is now on the platform of Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, ready for launch to the International Space Station (ISS) .

The device will be released tomorrow, Sunday at 02.40 GMT with 32 members of the expedition manned spacecraft :the crew is Russian Yuri Malenchenko (c), the American Sunita Williams (i) and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide (d).

According to the Center of Space Flight Control, the Russian Soyuz will dock two days later from the orbital outpost, inhabited now by the Russians Sergey Gennady Padalka and Revin, and NASA astronaut Joe Acaba Puerto Rican.

Once the three new tenants of the orbital platform to accommodate their new habitat, Williams exercised flight engineer functions until September, when as commander Padilla will replace.

So far, only another woman, another American Peggy Whitson, had assumed command of the station began to operate for more than a decade.

For Malenchenko this will be his fifth flight aboard a Soyuz while their American colleagues and Japanese debut on a Russian rocket, but if they have experience in and retired U.S. shuttle.

During the next six months in the three ISS astronauts must complete about 40 scientific experiments, according to Russian news agencies.

"In general, the working hours of the station crew continues for 16-17 hours. And the first day of stay will be no exception," said Malenchenko.

Meanwhile, Williams said that during the next six months, the crew will perform several spacewalks and Russian Progress freighters will receive three and a Japanese HTV in late July.

However, the inhabitants of the station will have time to "follow the Olympic Games", which will start on 27 July in London.

Since the U.S. shuttle services were removed, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft are the only vehicles that are used for the relief of the crew of the ISS, this will continue at least until 2016.

This was stipulated in the contracts signed between Roscommon, the Russian space agency, NASA and the U.S.