Soyuz Mission TMA-4 to the ISS
On 19 April 2004 at 03:19 GMT, ESA astronaut Andr? Kuipers departedt for the Delta Mission to the International Space
Kuipers will join a Soyuz flight as First Engineer. Together with cosmonaut Gennadi Padalka and astronaut Mike Fincke, he
will make a two-day journey to the Station, stay and work nine days on the ISS, and then return to Earth with the current
resident ISS Crew, in the night 29-30 April 2004.
This programme provides final mission preparations, recorded in Baikonur and Moscow in the period 1-12 April 2004.
The following events are covered:
- Final Crew Examinations by State Commission
- Final test of space suits by crew - suit-up & pressure-test, in Baikonur
- Inspection of Soyuz Capsule by the crew in Baikonur
- Visit to the space museum in Baikonur - signature ceremony
- Visit to Red Square in Moscow & planting of flowers at Cosmonaut monument
- Farewell reception in Moscow
The programme includes an A-roll of five m

10.00.40 Ceremony atStar City
For ESA-astronaut Andr? Kuipers, the final countdown has started. On the 19th of April, heÕs flying to the ISS as flight engineer on the Dutch-sponsored DELTA - mission, together with Cosmonaut Gennadi Padalka and NASA-astronaut Mike Fincke. The three spacemen have all passed their final exams and after the ceremonial farewell-reception in the Star City training centre, they are now in their final days of preparation before blasting off to the ISS.
10.01.13 Getting in space suits, exam, commission
The brand new and tailor-made space suits of the astronauts were tested for leaks once more by inflating
them.
10.01.23 The suits were kept on during the final exams inside the Soyuz. These take almost all day and place the crew before every thinkable problem or emergency. This can be anything from a malfunctioning radio to a small fire or a leak in the capsule.
10.01.40 Immediately afterwards the examination board evaluated their performance. All three passed the exam flawlessly.
10.01