The Russian Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft, named after the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, carrying the International Space Station (ISS) crew of U.S. astronaut Ronald Garan, Russian cosmonauts Alexandr Samokutyaev and Andrey Borisenko, blasts off at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on April 5, 2011. Three others are already in orbit on the ISS. More photos from the launch follow. (REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov)
International Space Station (ISS) crew members U.S. astronaut Ronald Garan (C, Russian cosmonauts Alexandr Samokutyaev (bottom) and Andrey Borisenko wave as they board the Russian Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft, named after the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, before blast off at Baikonur cosmodrome April 5, 2011.
The International Space Station (ISS) crew member Russian cosmonaut Alexandr Samokutyae shows a toy which will be hung in the Soyuz spacecraft and used as a weightlessness indicator during a news conference at Baikonur cosmodrome, April 3, 2011.
The International Space Station (ISS) crew of U.S. astronaut Ronald Garan (L) along with Russian cosmonauts Alexandr Samokutyaev (2nd R) and Andrey Borisenko (R), pose with Marciel Santos Kayle Riss from French Guiana during a news conference at Baikonur cosmodrome, April 3, 2011. Riss met the crew as part of a tour which he won as a prize for winning an mission patch design contest organised by Russia’s Roscosmos space agency.
The International Space Station (ISS) crew of U.S. astronaut Ronald Garan (L) and his crew mates Russian cosmonauts Alexandr Samokutyaev (C) and Andrey Borisenko, display a poster depicting them as Russian army’s hussars during a news conference at Baikonur cosmodrome.