Seated at table with back to camera, Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, left, Soyuz Commander and Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin and American spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari, right, and their backup crew meet with Russian and American officials moments before boarding the bus to head to the Soyuz launch pad, Monday, Sept. 18, 2006 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 10:09 a.m. local time. Anousheh Ansari will spend nine days on the International Space Station under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)