NASA Director of Human Space Flight Program in Russia Joel Montalbano talks on the phone to the crew of Expedition 31, who are onboard the International Space Station, from the Russian Mission Control Center, Thursday, May 17, 2012 in Korolev, Russia. Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, and NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba docked their soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft to the space station at 8:36 a.m. Moscow time two days after they launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The family of Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba applauds as they watch the docking of the Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft on the TV screen at the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia, Thursday, May 17, 2012. The Soyuz docked to the International Space Station with Acaba and fellow crew members, Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin two days after they launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The family of Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba sings happy birthday to him from the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia, Thursday, May 17, 2012. Acaba, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, docked their Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft to the space station at 8:36 a.m. Moscow time, two days after they launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Sergei Revin of Russia adjust his watch shirtly after donning his Russian Sokol suit in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Revin, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Joe Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba waits to have his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Acaba, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Sergei Revin of Russia dons his Russian Sokol suit in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Revin, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Joe Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka smiles after having his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Padalka, Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, and Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Sergei Revin of Russia dons his Russian Sokol suit in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Revin, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Joe Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba dons his Russian Sokol suit in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Acaba, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba dons his Russian Sokol suit in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Acaba, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba waves to family and friends as he waits to have his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked prior to his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Acaba, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba waves farewell to friends and family as his bus departs the Cosmonaut Hotel with fellow Expedition 31 crew members, Commander Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, and Acaba onboard launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency is helped out of the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule after he and Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, and Flight Engineer Don Pettit of NASA landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit of NASA is helped out of the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule after he and Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, and Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba is seen on the TV screen at the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia a few hours after the Soyuz TMA-04M docked to the International Space Station with Acaba and fellow crew members, Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin on Thursday, May 17, 2012. The crew of three launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The Soyuz TMA-03M capsule is seen out the right window of a Russian Search and Rescue helicopter as it lands near capsule with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency onboard in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency waves while seated in a chair outside the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule shortly after he and Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, and Flight Engineer Don Pettit of NASA landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The Expedition 31 Soyuz landing site is seen through the plexiglass window of the helicopter carrying Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit to Karaganda less than two hours after he and Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, and Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency landed in their Soyuz TMA-03M capsule in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Support and medical personnel assist Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit of NASA out of the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule shortly after he and Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, and Flight Engineers Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit of NASA is helped out of a Russian Search and Rescue helicopter after it carried him from the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule landing site in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan to Karaganda on Sunday, July 1, 2012 in Kazakhstan. Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Pettit and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency landed in their Soyuz TMA-03M capsule in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan after serving more than six months onboard the International Space Station as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency is carried by support personal from the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule to a chair shortly after he and Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, and Flight Engineer Don Pettit of NASA landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Support personnel rush to the the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule shortly after it landed with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia is monitored by medical support personal after he and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency landed in their Soyuz TMA-03M capsule in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
A Russian Search and Rescue helicopter flies to the the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule shortly after it landed with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Support personnel rush to the the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule shortly after it landed with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Russian support personnel prepare to access the crew of Soyuz TMA-03M capsule shortly after it landed with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Additional Russian Search and Rescue crews arrive near the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule after it landed with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Support personnel rush to the the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule shortly after it landed with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
ISS002-E-5081 (31 March 2001) --- Cosmonaut Yury V. Usachev, Expedition Two commander, floats in the Zvezda Service Module onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Usachev, representing Rosaviakosmos, and two American astronauts recently replaced the Expedition One crew on the orbital outpost after that threesome had been onboard since early November 2000. The image was recorded with digital still camera.
ISS002-E-5083 (31 March 2001) --- Cosmonaut Yury V. Usachev, Expedition Two commander, floats into the Zvezda Service Module onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Usachev, representing Rosaviakosmos, and two American astronauts recently replaced the Expedition One crew on the orbital outpost after that threesome had been onboard since early November 2000. The image was recorded with digital still camera.
ISS031-E-005010 (27 April 2012) --- Soyuz TMA-22, with three Expedition 30 crew members onboard, appears as a tiny object in the lower left corner of this image photographed by one of the Expedition 31 crew members currently onboard the International Space Station, partially visible at right foreground. A short time earlier, the two spacecraft began their relative separation, thus cutting in half the number of personnel onboard the orbital outpost for the time being. The station was over the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Seen in the picture also are the Sea of Okhotsk, ice floes, part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Tartar Strait, highlighted with sun glint, and Sakhalin Island.
ISS040-E-006303 (31 May 2014) --- An orbital sunrise is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 40 crew member on the International Space Station. Crew members onboard the space station see, on average, sixteen sunrises and sunsets during a 24-hour orbital period.
ISS01-S-006 (31 October 2000) --- A Soyuz spacecraft lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 10:53 a.m. Kazakhstan time. Onboard were Expedition One commander William M. (Bill) Shepherd, Soyuz commander Yuri P. Gidzenko and Sergei K. Krikalev, flight engineer.
ISS040-E-083603 (31 July 2013) --- The sun, peeking through the thin line of Earth's atmosphere, is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 40 crew member on the International Space Station. Crew members onboard the space station see, on average, sixteen sunrises and sunsets during a 24-hour orbital period.
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba, left, Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, right, don their Russian Sokol suits ahead of their launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Padalka, Revin, and Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, left, Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, and Flight Engineer Joe Acaba, right, talk with family members after having their Russian Sokol suits pressure checked in preparation for their launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Padalka, Revin, and Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
ISS002-E-5097 (31 March 2001) --- Cosmonaut Yury V. Usachev of Rosaviakosmos, Expedition Two commander, inputs information into a log in the Zvezda Service Module onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Usachev and two American astronauts recently replaced the initial three-member station crew that had been onboard the outpost since early November 2000. The image was taken with a digital still camera.
ISS002-E-5084 (31 March 2001) --- Astronaut James S. Voss, Expedition Two flight engineer, floats in the Zvezda Service Module onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Voss, along with astronaut Susan J. Helms and cosmonaut Yury V. Usachev of Rosaviakosmos, recently replaced the initial three-member crew onboard the orbital outpost. The image was taken with a digital still camera.
Flight Engineer Sergei Revin has his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Revin, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Joe Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka lies in a chair to have his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Padalka, Flight Engineer Sergei Revin and Flight Engineer Joe Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Flight Engineer Joe Acaba has his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Acaba, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Flight Engineer Sergei Revin sits down to have his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Revin, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Joe Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Flight Engineer Joe Acaba has his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Acaba, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Flight Engineer Sergei Revin sits down to have his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Revin, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Joe Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, left, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin talk as technicians assist with donning the Russian Sokol suits ahead of their launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Padalka, Revin, and Flight Engineer Joe Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba, left, Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, right, don their Russian Sokol suits ahead of their launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Padalka, Revin, and Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka has his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Padalka, Flight Engineer Sergei Revin and Flight Engineer Joe Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Flight Engineer Joe Acaba has his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked in preparation for his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Acaba, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
A Russian Search and Rescue helicopter pilot waits for the arrival of Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Don Pettit and other personnel so they can be flown from the Soyuz landing site outside the town of Zhezkazgan to the Karaganda Airport on Sunday, July 1, 2012 in Kazakhstan. Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency landed in their Soyuz TMA-03M capsule in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Russian support personnel are handed sokol suit gloves from the crew inside the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule after it landed with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
A closely cropped image of the Soyuz capsule shows the charring that took place during reentry of the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule after it landed with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Russian Search and Rescue crews attach ladders and a slide for access to the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule shortly after it landed with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Expedition 32 NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba is carried in a chair to the medical tent after he and Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin landed in their Soyuz TMA-04M capsule in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Acaba, Padalka and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
Expedition 32 NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba is helped from a Russian Search and Rescue all terrain vehicle (ATV) after he and Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin returned from the International Space Station on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Acaba, Padalka and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
Expedition 32 NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba is helped from a Russian Search and Rescue all terrain vehicle (ATV) to his helicopter after he and Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin returned from the International Space Station on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Acaba, Padalka and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
Expedition 32 Russian cosmonaut Sergei Revin, center, is welcomed to Kostanay, Kazakhstan after he and Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka and NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba returned from the International Space Station on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Revin, Padalka and Padalka returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
Expedition 32 NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba, left, Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka, center, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin sit in chairs outside the Soyuz Capsule just minutes after they landed in a remote area outside the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Acaba, Padalka and Revin are returning from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
Expedition 32 Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin is seen as he rests outside the Soyuz TMA-04M capsule just minutes after he and Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka and NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba landed in a remote area outside of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Revin, Padalka and Acaba are returning from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, September 17, 2012. Padalka, Acaba and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
Expedition 32 NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba is attended to by crew support personnel following his landing in the Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft, Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Acaba and Russian cosmonauts Padalka and Revin are returning from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
ISS033-E-005112 (16 Sept. 2012) --- The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft departs from the International Space Station and heads toward a landing in a remote area outside of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 17, 2012 (Kazakhstan time). Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin are returning from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews.
ISS033-E-005138 (16 Sept. 2012) --- The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft departs from the International Space Station and heads toward a landing in a remote area outside of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 17, 2012 (Kazakhstan time). Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin are returning from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews.
The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, September 17, 2012. Padalka, Acaba and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
ISS033-E-005131 (16 Sept. 2012) --- The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft departs from the International Space Station and heads toward a landing in a remote area outside of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 17, 2012 (Kazakhstan time). Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin are returning from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews.
The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is seen following its landing with Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, September 17, 2012. Padalka, Acaba and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, September 17, 2012. Padalka, Acaba and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
ISS033-E-005166 (16 Sept. 2012) --- The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft departs from the International Space Station and heads toward a landing in a remote area outside of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 17, 2012 (Kazakhstan time). Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin are returning from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews.
ISS033-E-005123 (16 Sept. 2012) --- The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft departs from the International Space Station and heads toward a landing in a remote area outside of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 17, 2012 (Kazakhstan time). Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin are returning from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews.
ISS033-E-005180 (16 Sept. 2012) --- The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft departs from the International Space Station and heads toward a landing in a remote area outside of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 17, 2012 (Kazakhstan time). Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin are returning from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews.
Russian support personnel are seen as they access the crew of the Soyuz TMA-04M capsule shortly after it landed with Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia and Flight Engineers Joe Acaba of NASA and Sergei Revin of Russia in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Padalka, Acaba and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
ISS033-E-005115 (16 Sept. 2012) --- The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft departs from the International Space Station and heads toward a landing in a remote area outside of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 17, 2012 (Kazakhstan time). Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin are returning from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews.
The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, September 17, 2012. Padalka, Acaba and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
ISS033-E-005187 (16 Sept. 2012) --- The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft departs from the International Space Station and heads toward a landing in a remote area outside of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 17, 2012 (Kazakhstan time). Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin are returning from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews.
The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, September 17, 2012. Padalka, Acaba and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
Expedition 32 Commander is welcomed home upon his arrival in Star City, Monday, Sept. 17, 2012 in Russia. Padalka, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin landed in their Soyuz TMA-04M earlier that day in a remote area outside of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan. They returned home from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
ISS008-E-13948 (31 January 2004) --- Backdropped by a blue and white Earth, an unpiloted Progress supply vehicle approaches the International Space Station (ISS). The Progress 13 resupply craft launched at 5:58 a.m. (CST) on January 29, 2004 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to deliver 2 ½ tons of food, fuel, spare parts and supplies to the Expedition 8 crewmembers onboard the orbital outpost. Progress docked to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 7:13 a.m. (CST) on January 31 as the two craft flew 230 statute miles above Central Asia.
ISS008-E-13951 (31 January 2004) --- Backdropped by a blue and white Earth, an unpiloted Progress supply vehicle approaches the International Space Station (ISS). The Progress 13 resupply craft launched at 5:58 a.m. (CST) on January 29, 2004 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to deliver 2 ½ tons of food, fuel, spare parts and supplies to the Expedition 8 crewmembers onboard the orbital outpost. Progress docked to the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 7:13 a.m. (CST) on January 31 as the two craft flew 230 statute miles above Central Asia.
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba, seated left, Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and, Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, seated right, pose for a picture with their backup crew members Kevin Ford, standing left, Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin, standing right, just a few hours before their launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Padalka, Revin, and Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba, left, Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and, Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, right, receive a formal go for launch from Vitaly Alexandrovich Lopota, President of Energia, left, and Vladimir Popovkin, Director of Roscosmos prior to their launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Padalka, Revin, and Acaba onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
Expedition 32 NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba is seen as he rests outside the Soyuz TMA-04M capsule just minutes after he and Expedition 32 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin landed in a remote area outside of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. NASA Astronaut Acaba, Russian Cosmonauts Padalka and Revin are returning from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
A view inside inside the Russian Search and Rescue helicopter that will carry Expedition 32 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba from the Soyuz TMA-04M landing site in a remote area outside Arkalyk, Kazakhstan to Kostanay, Kazakhstan shortly after he and Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin returned from the International Space Station on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Acaba, Padalka and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
Expedition 32 NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba is seen as he rests outside the Soyuz TMA-04M capsule just minutes after he and Expedition 32 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin landed in a remote area outside of the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. NASA Astronaut Acaba, Russian Cosmonauts Padalka and Revin are returning from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
Expedition 32 NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba rests on the Russian Search and Rescue helicopter that is carrying him from the Soyuz TMA-04M landing site in a remote area outside Arkalyk, Kazakhstan to Kostanay, Kazakhstan shortly after he and Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin returned from the International Space Station on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Acaba, Padalka and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
View from the balcony of the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia a little more than an hour before the planned docking of the Soyuz TMA-04M to the International Space Station on Thursday, May 17, 2012. Onboard the soyuz spacecraft are Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, and NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba. The crew of three launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Russian flight controllers at the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia monitor the Soyuz TMA-04M as it docks to the International Space Station on Thursday, May 17, 2012. Onboard the soyuz spacecraft are Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, and NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba. The crew of three launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
View from the balcony of the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia a little more than an hour before the planned docking of the Soyuz TMA-04M to the International Space Station on Thursday, May 17, 2012. Onboard the soyuz spacecraft are Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, and NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba. The crew of three launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
ISS028-E-020072 (31 July 2011) --- Photographed by an Expedition 28 crew member onboard the International Space Station, this image shows the moon at center, with the limb of Earth near the bottom transitioning into the orange-colored troposphere, the lowest and most dense portion of the Earth's atmosphere. The troposphere ends abruptly at the tropopause, which appears in the image as the sharp boundary between the orange- and blue- colored atmosphere. The silvery-blue noctilucent clouds extend far above the Earth's troposphere.
Members of the media photograph the Soyuz TMA-04M rocket launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. Heading to the International Space Station onboard the soyuz are Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, NASA Flight Engineer Joseph Acaba and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
ISS014-E-18822 (31 March 2007) --- Astronaut Sunita L. Williams, Expedition 14 flight engineer, works with the Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System (LOCAD-PTS) experiment in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. LOCAD-PTS is a handheld device for rapid detection of biological and chemical substances onboard the station.
S114-E-5946 (31 July 2005) --- A Sunday morning picture onboard the International Space Station shows the Expedition 11 crew members--John L. Phillips (left) and Sergei Krikalev--in the Zvezda Service Module, while their "guests" from Discovery are at various other locations in the orbital outpost and the Shuttle. Transfer of supplies brought up from Earth still remains one of the high priority activities for the two crews.
A television screen as seen from the balcony of the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia shows the Soyuz TMA-04M as it docks to the International Space Station on Thursday, May 17, 2012. Onboard the soyuz spacecraft are Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, Flight Engineer Sergei Revin, and NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba. The crew of three launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 64 Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft on Oct. 14 to start a six-month mission onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)
ISS028-E-020073 (31 July 2011) --- Photographed by an Expedition 28 crew member onboard the International Space Station, this image shows the moon at center, with the limb of Earth near the bottom transitioning into the orange-colored troposphere, the lowest and most dense portion of the Earth's atmosphere. The troposphere ends abruptly at the tropopause, which appears in the image as the sharp boundary between the orange- and blue- colored atmosphere. The silvery-blue noctilucent clouds extend far above the Earth's troposphere.
The Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 64 Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft on Oct. 14 to start a six-month mission onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)