Expedition 11 Flag Raising

Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev, left, European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori, of Italy, Flight Engineer John Phillips, third from left, along with their backups, Russian Commander Mikhail Tyurin, American Dan Tani and Robert Thirsk, of Canada, far right, participate in the traditional raising of their countries’ flags outside their crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on Monday, April 11, 2005, during preparations for the April 15 launch on a Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft to the International Space Station. Krikalev and Phillips will spend six months in space and greet the first Shuttle crew to fly in more than two years when it arrives at the station, while Vittori spends eight days on the station under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)