THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

Soyuz TMA-11 prime and backup crewmembers are protected behind glass during the State Commission meeting and press conference Oct. 9, 2007 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The crew was in preparation for their launch to the International Space Station Oct. 10 in their Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft.

When NASA's last scheduled Space Shuttle mission lands in June of 2010, the United States will not have the capability to get astronauts into space again until the scheduled launch of the new Orion spacecraft in 2015. Over those five years, the U.S. manned space program will be relying heavily on Russia and its Baikonur Cosmodrome facility in Kazakhstan. Baikonur is an entire Kazakh city, rented and administered by Russia. The Cosmodrome was founded in 1955, making it one of the oldest space launch facilites still in operation. Here are collected some photographs of manned and unmanned launches from Baikonur over the past several years.




The flags of Malaysia, Russia and the United States sit between the phones used by officials to talk to the crew of the International Space Station in the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, outside Moscow, seen on October 12, 2007.

The Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft and its booster rocket, transported by rail to the launch pad to be raised to a vertical launch position at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on October 16, 2003, in preparation for liftoff October 18 to carry C. Michael Foale, Expedition 8 commander and NASA science officer; Alexander Kaleri, Soyuz Commander and flight engineer; and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain to the International Space Station.

A view of the bottom of the booster rocket for the Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft, shortly after the two were mated at an integration facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on April 12, 2005.

NASA astronaut Peggy A. Whitson, Expedition 16 commander, has a pressure suit leak check performed on her Russian Sokol launch and entry suit at RSC Energia Assembly and Testing Facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, in preparation for her launch on a Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft to the International Space Station scheduled for Oct. 10.

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov (C), US astronaut Michael Fincke (L) and his compatriot, space tourist Richard Garriott (R) practice inside a Soyuz-TMA space flight simulator in Star City (a training facility north of Moscow, Russia) on September 19, 2008.

Cosmonaut Salizhan S. Sharipov, Russia's Federal Space Agency Expedition 10 flight engineer and Soyuz commander, donned his launch and entry suit and climbed aboard the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft 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.

Astronaut Leroy Chiao (r), Expedition 10 commander cosmonaut Salizhan S. Sharipov (c), and Russian Space Forces cosmonaut Yuri Shargin (l) donned their launch and entry suits and climbed aboard the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft 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 ISS.

At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 17 Commander Sergei Volkov (center), Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko (right) and South Korean spaceflight participant So-yeon Yi bid farewell to well wishers April 8, 2008 prior to heading to the launch pad for their liftoff on the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Railroad tracks lead to the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad. Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft and its booster were rolled out on March 28, 2006, for final pre-launch preparations. The Soyuz was set to blast off on March 30, 2006,

The Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft is rolled to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan April 6, 2008 in preparation for launch April 8 to carry new residents and a spaceflight participant to the International Space Station. The Soyuz began the move from its assembly and integration building to the launch pad on a railcar at sunrise, arriving at the pad several hours later for final technical preparations.

With a mockup of the defunct Russian "Buran" Space Shuttle sitting passively nearby (lower right), the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft and its booster rocket crawl on a rail car to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan October 16, 2003, in preparation for its liftoff October 18 to carry three astronauts to the International Space Station.

Baikonur hosts both manned and unmanned launches. Here is shown a Russian Proton-M rocket carrying a Canadian communication Nimiq 4 satellite being transported to a launching pad of the Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 15, 2008. The Proton-M will carry the satelite into geostationary orbit on September 18, 2008.

Spectators try to grab the highest viewing point to watch the launch of the Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft, carrying Expedition 13 crew members to the International Space Station on March 30, 2006.

Preparations are underway for liftoff of the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft as the Soyuz-FG launch vehicle with the Soyuz spacecraft is installed on the launch system and the transporter-emplacer arm moves away, October 8, 2007

A Soyuz spacecraft lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 10:54 p.m. (CDT) on April 26, 2003. Onboard were cosmonaut Yuri I. Malenchenko, Expedition Seven mission commander, and astronaut Edward T. Lu, NASA ISS science officer and flight engineer. Malenchenko represents Rosaviakosmos.

The Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft seen high overhead as it blasts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at daybreak on April 15, 2005 (Kazakhstan time), carrying three astronauts to the ISS.

Backdropped by a cloud-covered Earth, the Soyuz 14 (TMA-10) spacecraft approaches the International Space Station. Onboard the spacecraft are cosmonauts Fyodor N. Yurchikhin, Expedition 15 commander; and Oleg V. Kotov, Soyuz commander and flight engineer, both representing Russia's Federal Space Agency; along with spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi. With Kotov at the controls, the Soyuz linked up to the ISS on April 9, 2007.

Backdropped against the blackness of space and airglow of Earth's horizon, an unpiloted Progress supply vehicle approaches the International Space Station (ISS). The Progress 15 resupply craft launched August 11, 2004 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to deliver almost three tons of food, fuel, oxygen, water and supplies to the Expedition 9 crewmembers onboard the Station.

The Baikonur launch complex, seen directly in a photograph taken by an Expedition 13 crew member aboard the International Space Station on September 9, 2006. The name Baikonur is Kazakh for "wealthy brown," i.e. "fertile land with many herbs."

A Kazakh farmer herds cattle across the tarmac on April 19, 2008, at the Arkalyk airport in Kazakhstan. Arkalyk is used as one of the helicopter staging areas for the landing of the Soyuz spacecraft, as they parachute back to Earth.

The city of Baikonur, Kazakhstan, is seen from the aircraft carrying Expedition 10 crew members on October 4, 2004. The crew will prepare for their launch on the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft October 14, 2004, to the ISS.

A series of three photographs shows the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft floating to a landing southwest of Karaganda, Kazakhstan at approximately 6:30 p.m. local time on April 21, 2007. Onboard were astronaut Michael E. Lopez-Alegria, Expedition 14 commander and NASA space station science officer; cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, Soyuz commander and flight engineer representing Russia's Federal Space Agency; and U.S. spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi.

Technicians begin the process of removing cargo from the Soyuz TMA-7 capsule (blackened from the heat of re-entry) at sunrise on the steppes of Kazakhstan on April 9, 2006, following the pre-dawn landing of three ISS Expedition 12 crew members.

Expedition 13 crewmembers - cosmonaut Pavel V. Vinogradov (center), commander, and astronaut Jeffrey N. Williams (right), flight engineer and NASA ISS science officer - along with spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari are attended to by Russian and American search and recovery teams on the steppe of central Kazakhstan on Sept. 29, 2006 following their landing in the Soyuz TMA-8 spacecraft after undocking earlier in the day from the International Space Station.

In December 1998, the crew of Space Shuttle Mission STS-88 began construction of the International Space Station - Astronaut James Newman is seen here making final connections the U.S.-built Unity node to the Russian-built Zarya module. The crew carried a large-format IMAX camera from which this picture was taken.
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the first launched module of the International Space Station (ISS). The module Zarya was lifted into orbit on November 20th, 1998 by a Russian Proton rocket lifting off from Baikonur, Kazhakstan. In the decade since, 44 manned flights and 34 unmanned flights have carried further modules, solar arrays, support equipment, supplies and a total of 167 human beings from 15 countries to the ISS, and it still has a ways to go until it is done. Originally planned to be complete in 2003, the target date for completion is now 2011. Aside from time spent on construction, ISS crew members work on a good deal of research involving biology and physics in conditions of microgravity. If humans are ever to leave the Earth for extended periods, the ISS is designed to be the place where we will discover the best materials, procedures and safety measures to make it a reality.

Backdropped against a blanket of heavy cloud cover, the Russian-built FGB, also called Zarya, approaches the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the U.S.-built Node 1, also called Unity (foreground) on December 6th, 1998. Inside Endeavour's cabin, the STS-88 crew readied the remote manipulator system (RMS) for Zarya capture as they awaited the rendezvous.

Blanketing clouds form the backdrop for this 70mm scene of the connected Zarya and Unity modules after having been released from Endeavour's cargo bay a bit earlier on December 4th, 1998. Six crew members, who had earlier spent the majority of their on-duty mission time working on the tandem of space hardware, watched the joined modules from Endeavour in a survey and fly-around mode.

Astronaut Robert L. Curbeam, STS-98 mission specialist, was photographed by a member of the Expedition One crew in the newly installed Destiny laboratory during the second of three space walks on February 12th, 2001. Ahead of schedule, the astronauts connected several computer and electrical cables between the docking port and the lab; unveiled the lab's large, high-quality window (through which this photo was taken) and attached an exterior shutter; and repositioned a movable foot platform they had taken inside Atlantis on the first spacewalk for a slight adjustment.

Space shuttle Endeavour is shown after rollback of the rotating service structure. The rollback was in preparation for liftoff on the STS-126 mission with a crew of seven. Above Endeavour's external tank is the vent hood, known as the "beanie cap," at the end of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, extending from the fixed service structure. Below is the orbiter access arm with the White Room at the end, flush against the shuttle. The rotating structure provides protected access to the shuttle for changeout and servicing of payloads at the pad. Photo taken Nov. 14, 2008.

This high-angle image of the Space Shuttle Atlantis backdropped over a mountainous coastline was photographed on February 16th, 2001 by the three-man Expedition One crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) shortly after the shuttle and the outpost unlinked following several days of joint operations of the two crews. The scene was recorded with a digital still camera.

The Phantom Torso, seen here on May 13th, 2001 in the Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS), is designed to measure the effects of radiation on organs inside the body by using a torso that is similar to those used to train radiologists on Earth. The torso is equivalent in height and weight to an average adult male. It contains radiation detectors that will measure, in real-time, how much radiation the brain, thyroid, stomach, colon, and heart and lung area receive on a daily basis. The data will be used to determine how the body reacts to and shields its internal organs from radiation, which will be important for longer duration space flights.

Silhouetted over Earth, the International Space Station (ISS) is seen on October 11th, 2000 in a configuration soon to be changed, once the approaching STS-92 crew adds its important new changes. If oriented with Earth's horizon on the left, the ISS elements, from the left, are Node 1 or Unity, the functional cargo block or Zarya, the service module or Zvezda and the Progress supply ship. In a matter of days, the crew went on to add the Z1 Truss structure and a third pressurized mating adapter.

Astronaut Donald R. Pettit, Expedition 6 NASA ISS science officer, photographs his helmet visor during a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) on January 15th, 2003. Pettit's arms and camera are visible in the reflection of his helmet visor. Astronaut Kenneth D. Bowersox, mission commander, is also visible in visor reflection, upper right.

he Expedition Three (white shirts), STS-105 (striped shirts), and Expedition Two (red shirts) crews assemble for a group photo in the Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station on August 17th, 2001.

An overhead view of the exterior of the Space Shuttle Atlantis' crew cabin, part of its payload bay doors and docking system was provided by Expedition 16 crewmembers. Before docking with the International Space Station, astronaut Steve Frick, STS-122 commander, flew the shuttle through a roll pitch maneuver or basically a backflip to allow the space station crew a good view of Atlantis' heat shield. Using digital still cameras equipped with both 400 and 800 millimeter lenses, the ISS crewmembers took a number of photos of the shuttle's thermal protection system and sent them down to teams on the ground for analysis. Photo taken February 9th, 2008.

Astronaut Carl E. Walz, Expedition Four flight engineer, catalogs canisters of water in the Zvezda Service Module on the International Space Station on March 11th, 2002

The Soyuz TMA-4 vehicle blasts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on April 19, 2004, carrying a crew of three to the ISS.

The Soyuz 14 (TMA-10) spacecraft approaches the International Space Station. With cosmonaut Oleg Kotov at the controls, the Soyuz linked up to the Zarya module nadir port at 2:10 p.m. (CDT) on April 9, 2007. The docking followed Saturday's launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The ISS, seen following undocking at 1:13 p.m. (CST), December 9, 2000. This is one of the first images of the entire station with its new solar array panels deployed. Before separation, the shuttle and space station had been docked to one another for 7 days. Endeavour moved downward from the space station, then began a tail-first circle at a distance of about 500 feet. The maneuver, with pilot Michael J. Bloomfield at the controls, took about an hour.

stronaut John L. Phillips, Expedition 11 NASA ISS science officer and flight engineer, is photographed among stowage bags in an airlock on the ISS on May 18th, 2005.

Astronaut Leroy Chiao, Expedition 10 commander and NASA ISS science officer, watches a water bubble float between him and the camera, showing his image refracted, on the IISS on January 15th, 2005.

This medium close-up view in the now densely-equipped Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station shows one floating ball-shaped item which is actually one of the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) on January 27th, 2008. Cosmonaut Yuri I. Malenchenko, Expedition 16 flight engineer representing Russia's Federal Space Agency, is also visible in the background.

The Canadarm2 (center) and solar array panel wings on the International Space Station are featured in this image photographed by a crewmember during the mission's first planned session of extravehicular activity (EVA) while Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-118) was docked with the station on August 11th, 2007. To see a larger panorama (stitched together with another photo of the Endeavour), click here.

Astronaut C. Michael Foale, Expedition 8 commander and NASA ISS science officer, equipped with a bungee harness, exercises on the Treadmill Vibration Isolation System (TVIS) in the Zvezda Service Module on the ISS on April 12th, 2004.

Backdropped by a blanket of clouds, the ISS was photographed by a crewmember on board the Space Shuttle Atlantis following the undocking of the two spacecraft. Atlantis pulled away from the complex at 8:13 a.m. (CDT) on October 16, 2002.

This view features a reboost of the International Space Station (ISS) in action. Ground controllers at Mission Control Moscow ignited the thrusters of a Progress rocket docked to the station's Zvezda Service Module on April 4th, 2003. The 14-minute firing raised the average altitude of the station by about 3 km. One of the Expedition 6 crewmembers captured this picture of the yellow-glowing thrusters from a window in the Service Module.

A close up view of a water droplet on a leaf on the Russian BIO-5 Rasteniya-2/Lada-2 (Plants-2) plant growth experiment, which is located in the Zvezda Service Module on the ISS. Photo taken on March 9th, 2003.

The ISS is backdropped against a cloud-covered part of Earth as the orbital outpost moves away from the Space Shuttle Discovery on August 6th, 2005. Earlier, the crews of the two spacecraft concluded nine days of cooperative work.


Astronaut Karen Nyberg, STS-124 mission specialist, looks through a window in the newly installed Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station while Space Shuttle Discovery is docked with the station on June 10th, 2008.

Astronaut Stephen Robinson rides the 17-meter-long Canadarm2 during the STS-114 mission of the space shuttle Discovery to the ISS in August of 2005. The Canadarm2 aboard the ISS has multiple joints and is capable of maneuvering payloads as massive as 116,000 kilograms, equivalent to a fully loaded bus.

The ISS is seen moving away from the Space Shuttle Atlantis on June 19th, 2007. Earlier the STS-117 and Expedition 15 crews concluded about eight days of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station. Astronaut Lee Archambault, STS-117 pilot, was at the controls for the departure and fly-around, which gave Atlantis' crew a look at the station's new expanded configuration.

A spacesuit-turned-satellite called SuitSat began its orbit around the Earth after it was released by the ISS Expedition 12 crewmembers during a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) on Feb. 3, 2006. SuitSat, an unneeded Russian Orlan spacesuit, was outfitted by the crew with three batteries, internal sensors and a radio transmitter, which faintly transmitted recorded voices of school children to amateur radio operators worldwide. The suit entered the atmosphere and burned a few weeks later.

High above New Zealand and Cook Strait, astronauts Robert L. Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang work to attach a new truss segment to the ISS and begin to upgrade the power grid on December 12th, 2006.

The ISS is seen from Space Shuttle Discovery as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation. Earlier the STS-124 and Expedition 17 crews concluded almost nine days of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 6:42 a.m. (CDT) on June 11th, 2008.

Astronaut Steve Bowen, STS-126 mission specialist, participates in the mission's first session of extravehicular activity (EVA) on November 18th, 2008, as construction and maintenance continue on the ISS. During the six-hour, 52-minute spacewalk, Bowen and astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (out of frame), mission specialist, worked to clean and lubricate part of the station's starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joints (SARJ) and to remove two of SARJ's 12 trundle bearing assemblies. The spacewalkers also removed a depleted nitrogen tank from a stowage platform on the outside of the complex and moved it into Endeavour's cargo bay.