Stock Photo - Cosmonaut Gennady I. Padalka (center), Russia's Federal Space Agency Expedition 9 mission commander; astronaut Edward M. (Mike) Fincke (left), NASA International Space Station (ISS) science officer and flight engineer; and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andre Kuipers of the Netherlands (right) are interviewed on camera after arrival at Baikonur, Kazakhstan, six days prior to their scheduled launch onboard the Soyuz TMA-4 vehicle. The trio is scheduled to launch on April 19, 2004, to the ISS for arrival on April 21. Padalka and Fincke will spend six months on the ISS, replacing the Expedition 8 crew, which has been aboard the Station since October 20, 2003. Kuipers, who is flying under a commercial contract between ESA and Russia's Federal Space Agency, will return to Earth with the Expedition 8 crew on April 30, 2004.

Stock Photo: Cosmonaut Gennady I. Padalka (center), Russia's Federal Space Agency Expedition 9 mission commander; astronaut Edward M. (Mike) Fincke (left).

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