LONGUEUIL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwire) -- 12/20/12 -- On December 21, after a two-day journey, the Soyuz capsule carrying Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Astronaut Chris Hadfield, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and cosmonaut Roman Romanenko will dock to the International Space Station (ISS). At 11:45 a.m. EST, as they open the hatch between the two spacecrafts, they will be welcomed to their new orbital home by the crewmembers of Expedition 34: NASA astronaut Kevin Ford and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin.

On December 19, CSA Astronaut Chris Hadfield launched aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to begin a historic five-month spaceflight in which he will become the first Canadian ever to assume command of the ISS.

The docking and hatch opening will be live on NASA TV.

When:       December 21                                                     
                                                                            
What:       Docking with the ISS at 9:18 a.m.                               
            Hatch opening at 11:45 a.m.                                     

These times are subject to change without notice. Please visit the NASA TV schedule for the latest information.

For more information on Expedition 34/35:

- Check out the CSA's Mission Website

- Follow the CSA and Cmdr Hadfield on Twitter

- Follow the CSA and astronaut Chris Hadfield on Facebook

- Visit the CSA You Tube Channel

For b-roll footage of Hadfield and Expedition 34/35, access our ftp site: http://media3.marketwire.com/r/CanadianSpaceAgency1219

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