Soyuz rocket launch in Kazakhstan
The Soyuz TMA-14 that will carry a new crew to the space station is moved to the launch pad. U.S. billionaire Charles Simonyi will also be aboard as a space tourist, making his second trip into orbit. (Mikhail Metzel / Associated Press)
A train is used to move the Russian spacecraft to the launch pad. (Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP/Getty Images)
Russian police officers guard the rocket at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Mikhail Metzel / Associated Press)
A Russian police officer stands guard near the Soyuz TMA-14. Russian officials have indicated that after this year, seats will no longer be available to tourists aboard their rockets. (Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP/Getty Images)
Friends and relatives of the space travelers, as well as officials from NASA and the Russian space agency, huddled together for warmth and took photographs as the Soyuz was installed on the launch pad. Tradition dictates that the crew itself steer clear of the installation. (Mikhail Metzel / Associated Press)
The Soyuz is ready for takeoff. (Bill Ingalls / NASA via Getty Images)
Engineers look over the craft before launch. The Baikonur cosmodrome was built on barren land in Kazakhstan for the Soviet-American space race and is now leased to Russia. (Mikhail Metzel / Associated Press)
Russian space agency specialists inspect American astronaut Michael Barratt’s suit in advance of the 19th mission to the International Space Station. He will be part of a new six-member crew aboard the station, which previously has had three people aboard long-term. (Mikhail Metzel / Associated Press)
Cosmonaut and crew captain Gennady Padalka, top, U.S. space tourist Charles Simonyi and astronaut Mike Barratt, bottom, wave as they board their spacecraft at the Russian-leased cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP / Getty Images)
