Expedition 13 Preflight

The Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft and its booster rolled out to the launch pad on Tuesday, March 28, 2006 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan for final pre-launch preparations. The Soyuz will blast off on March 30, 2006 to carry Expedition 13 Commander Pavel V. Vinogradov and Science Officer and Flight Engineer Jeffrey N. Williams to the International Space Station for a six-month mission. The spacecraft will also be carrying Brazilian Space Agency Soyuz crew member Marcos Pontes, who will spend 10 days aboard the International Space Station under an agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)