Expedition 31 Crew Prepares For Launch

Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba waves to family and friends as he waits to have his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked prior to his launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-04M on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft with Acaba, Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin onboard, launched at 9:01 a.m. Kazakhstan time on Tuesday, May 15. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)