Flávio Dieguez
Special Report

Baikonur (Kazakhstan) – "The more different countries participate in missions to the International Space Station (Estação Espacial Internacional) (ISS) the more chance there is that it will become a permanent work station," says US astronaut, Kirk Chairman, who is a backup for the flight that will carry Brazilian astronaut, Marcio Pontes, and Russian Pavel Vinogradov, and American Jeffery Williams, into space tonight.

The liftoff is scheduled for 11:30pm. Pontes will be in space aboard the ISS for eight days. Williams and Vinogradov, who are both veteran astronauts, will stay for six months.

Chairman declared that the Brazilian presence, although short, is important for expanding the ISS space program and its continued construction which means the addition of more modules. At the moment the ISS is the size of a football field and weighs 100 tons.

Translation: Allen Bennett