Alumnus Tim Creamer answers a reporter's question during a press conference held in Kazakhstan two days before the Soyuz launch.

Yesterday alumnus Tim Creamer and two other crew members arrived at the International Space Station to join Expedition 22. The crew launched aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft on December 21st from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It is  the first time that Creamer SM ’92 has been to space.

While at the station, Creamer and his colleagues in Expedition 21 and 22 will work on setting up and activating new research facilities. They’ll activate the new Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT); unberth the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle when its supply mission is complete; and welcome a new Russian docking module, two shuttle crews and a Progress resupply ship.

Creamer is expected to remain at the space station for six months. You can read his full bio on the NASA Web site and follow his progress on twitter @Astro_TJ.

He is expected to remain at the station for the next six months.