HOUSTON — NASA Television will provide live coverage as the next residents of the International Space Station launch and arrive at the station to expand its crew to six people. Coverage begins May 15 when the crew members leave Star City, Russia, en route to the launch site in Kazakhstan.

On May 27, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk will launch aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:34 a.m. CDT (4:34 p.m. Baikonur time). They will arrive at the station at 7:36 a.m. CDT on May 29 to join the station’s Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineers Mike Barratt of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The six men will form the Expedition 20 crew, the station’s first six-person crew. This mission also will be the first time crew members are aboard representing all five International Space Station partners.

Events to be broadcast on NASA TV include (all times CDT):

Friday, May 15 5 p.m. — Video File of Expedition 20 crew’s traditional breakfast ceremony in Star City, Russia, prior to departure for the Baikonur launch site (replayed at 10 p.m.)

May 26, Tuesday 11 a.m. — Video File of Expedition 20 crew prelaunch activities and training, Soyuz spacecraft rollout and final crew prelaunch news conference in Baikonur

May 27, Wednesday 3:45 a.m. — Video File of Expedition 20 prelaunch activities in Baikonur 4:45 a.m. — Live coverage begins of Expedition 20 launch, scheduled at 5:34 a.m. 11 a.m. — Video File of Expedition 20 launch day activities, launch and post-launch interviews

May 29, Friday 7 a.m. — Live coverage begins of Expedition 20 docking to the space station, scheduled at 7:36 a.m. A post-docking news conference will follow. 8:30 a.m. — Live coverage begins of Soyuz hatch opening, expected at approximately 8:45 a.m., and Expedition 20 welcoming ceremony 12 p.m. — Video File of Soyuz docking to the station, hatch opening and welcoming ceremony