jsc2011e204523

At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Soyuz booster and its ISS Progress 45 cargo craft rolled to the launch pad in bone-chilling weather on October 28, 2011 in preparation for launch October 31 to send the unmanned Russian resupply vehicle to the International Space Station. The launch will be the first for this configuration of the Soyuz booster rocket since a third-stage engine failure in flight August 24 that resulted in the loss of the previous Progress cargo craft, the ISS Progress 44. ISS Progress 45 is loaded with almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the residents of the orbital laboratory. Credit: NASA