ISS017-E-019541 (14 Oct. 2008) --- The Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft approaches the International Space Station, carrying NASA astronaut Michael Fincke, Expedition 18 commander; Russian Federal Space Agency cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov, Soyuz commander and flight engineer; and American spaceflight participant Richard Garriott. Fincke and Lonchakov will spend six months on the station, while Garriott will return to Earth on Oct. 23 with two of the Expedition 17 crewmembers currently on the complex. The southeastern coast of Tunisia (left) over the Gulf of Gabes with the Isle of Jerba (bottom-center) forms the backdrop for the scene.
Date October 14, 2008