Expedition 10 Preflight

Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander Salizhan Sharipov, right, Expedition 10 Commander and NASA Science Officer Leroy Chiao and Russian Space Forces cosmonaut Yuri Shargin (behind Sharipov), along with other personnel, depart the plane at Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Monday, Oct. 4, 2004. The crew will prepare for their launch on the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft October 14, 2004 to the International Space Station. Chiao and Sharipov will spend six months on the Station, while Shargin will return to Earth October 24 with Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka and NASA Science Officer and Flight Engineer Mike Fincke, who have been in space since April. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)