WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) – NASA on Thursday, along with its international partners, the Russia Federal Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), announced four new crews for the International Space Station.

The crews include NASA astronauts Joe Acaba, Sunita Williams and Kevin Ford. Acaba, who was born in Inglewood, California, was raised in Anaheim, and Williams, who was born in Euclid, Ohio, considers Needham, Massachusetts as her hometown. Ford was born in Portland, Indiana, but says Montpelier is his hometown.

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Konenenko, European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers and NASA astronaut Don Pettit were previously announced as Expedition 31 crew members. Expedition 31 begins when Soyuz 28 undocks from the station in March 2012.

Soyuz 30 is set to launch in April 2012 with crew members and flight engineers Joe Acaba and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Konstantin Valkov, who have been added to Expedition 31.

Expedition 32 will begin with the undocking of Soyuz 29 in May 2012, as Soyuz 31 is set to launch in June 2012. Padalka will be station commander, while flight engineers include Acaba, Valkov, Williams, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, and JAXA astronaut Akhiko Hoshide. They will be joining the three station residents already aboard.

In Expedition 33 will begin with the undocking of Soyuz 30 in September 2012 as Soyuz 32 is set to launch in October 2012 with Williams serving as the station commander. The crew will also include flight engineers Malenchenko, Hoshide, Ford, and Russian coxmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin.

Finally, the crew for Expedition 34 was also announced, as it will begin with the undocking of Soyuz 31 in November 2012. The station commander will be Ford, and Novitskiy and Tarelkin will be serving as flight engineers, but three additional crew members for Expedition 34 have yet to be assigned. They will travel to and from the station aboard Soyuz 33.

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