Expedition 14 Preflight

Photographers prepare for the launch of the Soyuz TMA-9 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Monday, Sept. 18, 2006. The Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft launched at 10:09 a.m. local time carrying Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, Soyuz Commander and Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin and American spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari, who will spend nine days on the International Space Station under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)