
Soyuz on approach to the ISS during Expedition 13
ISS013-E-82934 (20 Sept. 2006) --- Backdropped by Earth's horizon and the blackness of space, the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft approaches the International Space Station. Onboard the spacecraft are 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 spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari. With Tyurin at the controls, the Soyuz linked up to the Zvezda Service Module aft port at 12:21 a.m. (CDT) on Sept. 20, 2006. The docking followed Monday's launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.