Crewmembers conducted the ceremonial raising of the Russian U.S. and Kazakh flags as part of their traditional pre-launch activities.

Outside their Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the Expedition 27 prime and backup crewmembers conducted the ceremonial raising of the Russian, U.S. and Kazakh flags on March 23, 2011 as part of their traditional pre-launch activities. Seen from left to right are prime Russian crewmembers Alexander Samokutyaev and Andrey Borisenko, prime NASA Flight Engineer Ron Garan (center) and his backup, Dan Burbank and backup Russian crewmembers Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin. Garan, Samokutyaev and Borisenko are scheduled to launch on April 5 (April 4, U.S. time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station on the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft that has been dubbed “Gagarin”, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the launch of Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961 to become the first human to fly in space. Credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov