Expedition 10 Preflight

Expedition 10 Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander Salizhan Sharipov donned his launch and entry suit and climbed aboard the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft Friday, October 5, 2004 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a dress rehearsal of launch day activities leading to their liftoff October 14 to the International Space Station. Chiao and Sharipov, the first crew of all-Asian extraction, will spend six months on the Station. Shargin will return to Earth October 24 with the Stations' current residents, Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka and NASA Flight Engineer and Science Officer Mike Fincke. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)