posted 05-02-2006 10:17 AM               

Lopez-Alegria, a veteran of three space flights, will command Expedition 14 and serve as the NASA station science officer for the six-month mission. He and Tyurin, a veteran station crew member from Expedition 3, are in training to launch aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in September 2006. Tyurin will serve as flight engineer and Soyuz commander.

Williams will join Expedition 14 in progress and serve as a flight engineer, after traveling to the station on space shuttle mission STS-116. This will be Williams's first space flight.

Selected as an astronaut in 1992, Lopez-Alegria flew his first shuttle mission, STS-73, in 1995 and later visited the station on shuttle missions STS-92 in 2000 and STS-113 in 2002, conducting five spacewalks during the station assembly complex. He has logged more than 42 days in space, including 34 hours spacewalking. Lopez-Alegria is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and received a Master of Science degree from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Williams was selected as an astronaut in 1998. She also is a graduate of the Naval Academy and received a Master of Science degree from the Florida Institute of Technology. Williams was designated a Naval aviator in 1989 and graduated from the Naval Test Pilot School in 1993. She has logged more than 2,770 flight hours in 30 different types of aircraft. At NASA, Williams has served as a liaison in Moscow supporting Expedition 1 and has supported station robotics work.

Tyurin was selected as a cosmonaut in 1993 and was a flight engineer aboard the station for Expedition 3 in 2001. He has spent 125 days in space. Tyurin is a graduate of the Moscow Aviation Institute.

posted 05-03-2006 04:47 PM               

My best guess (just a gut feeling, no facts behind it) is that Exp 15 will be Malenchenko, Yurchikin, and Clay Anderson. Exp 16 will be Whitson, Kotov, and someone else.