Soyuz TMA-7 launched 2005

Gregory Olsen, Valeri Tokarev, William McArthur

Mission patch

Soyuz TMA-7, launched October 1, 2005, carried the crew of Expedition 12 to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Valeri Tokarev (Roscosmos) and William McArthur (NASA).  Space tourist Gregory Olsen was also on board.

Tokarev and McArthur returned to Earth in April 2006 with Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes.

I could not find a video of the launch. 😧

Soyuz TMA-8 (Expedition 13) launched 2006

Soyuz TMA-8 crew (L-R): Marcos Pontes, Jeffrey Williams, Pavel Vinogradov

Mission patch

Soyuz TMA-8, launched March 30, 2006, carried members of Expedition 13 to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Pavel Vinogradov (Roscosmos), Jeffrey Williams (NASA) and Marcos Pontes (first Brazilian astronaut).

Pontes spent about a week on the ISS and returned with the crew of Expedition 12 on Soyuz TMA-7.

Vinogradov and Williams stayed on the ISS until September 29 when they returned to Earth with space tourist Anousheh Ansari, the first Iranian in space and the first self-funded woman in space.  Ansari arrived at the ISS about a week before on Soyuz TMA-9.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Marcos Pontes!

Marcos Pontes, born March 11, 1963 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is the first Brazilian in space.  He went into space aboard Soyuz TMA-8 in March 2006.  He spent a week aboard the International Space Station and returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-7.  He is the only Brazilian to complete astronaut training and cosmonaut training in Russia.