Launch and Docking
Soyuz TMA-17 was launched on December 20, 2009 and transported three members of the ISS Expedition 22 crew to the station. TMA-17 is the 104th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft. The Soyuz will most likely remain on board the space station for the remainder of the Expedition 22 increment to serve as an emergency escape vehicle.
This mission marked the first Soyuz launch in the month of December for almost 19 years. The prior Soyuz launch in the month of December was Soyuz TM-11 on December 2, 1990.
This mission also included the last planned docking of a Soyuz at the nadir, or Earth-facing, port of the Zarya module. The Rassvet module was attached to Zarya's nadir port during the STS-132 mission.
Read more about this topic: Soyuz TMA-17
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)