Expedition 8 Certification

Backup crewmembers Andre Kuipers of the Netherlands of the European Space Agency, center, Bill McArthur of NASA, left, and Valery Tokarev of Russia listen to Russian space officials clear their Expedition 8 and European Space Agency prime crewmembers for launch during a State Commission meeting, Friday, Oct. 17, 2003, at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Prime crewmembers Mike Foale, Alexander Kaleri and Pedro Duque launched, Saturday, Oct. 18 to the International Space Station in a Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle.Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)