Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft

Backdropped by a blue and white Earth, this close-up view features the Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft approaching the International Space Station (ISS). Onboard the spacecraft are cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev, Expedition 11 commander representing Russia's Federal Space Agency; astronaut John L. Phillips, NASA ISS science officer and flight engineer; and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Roberto Vittori of Italy. The Soyuz linked to the Pirs Docking Compartment at 9:20 p.m. (CDT) on April 16, 2005 as the two spacecraft flew over eastern Asia. The docking followed Friday’s launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.