3 crewmen will be riding Soyuz for first time

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) -- All three men heading to the international space station in a Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft Thursday will be riding the tiny craft for the first time, breaking with 35 years of tradition.
In the past, at least one crewman heading into space had ridden in a Soyuz before, but many veterans have resigned and Russia's space agency hasn't had enough seats to train their replacements. Still, Russians Salizhan Sharipov and Yuri Shargin and American Leroy Chiao say they aren't worried about their blastoff, set for 7:06 a.m. Thursday. Chiao and Sharipov both have flown U.S. space shuttles, while Shargin is a rookie.
"We have logged many hours in a simulator and got prepared for all regular and emergency regimes," Sharipov told reporters today.
"I have flown shuttles three times ... and I would very much like to fly a Soyuz, which would be a new adventure for me," Chiao said. "Both ships are very good, very reliable."