Gallery: Space Station's Expedition 30 Mission

Launch Pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome

NASA/Carla Cioffi

The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft is rolled out by train on its way to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Monday, Dec. 19, 2011. The launch of the Soyuz spacecraft with Expedition 30 Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers is scheduled for 7:16 p.m. local time on Wednesday, December 21.

Soyuz TMA-03M

NASA/Carla Cioffi

The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft is rolled out by train on its way to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Monday, Dec. 19, 2011. The launch of the Soyuz spacecraft with Expedition 30 Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers is scheduled for 7:16 p.m. local time on Wednesday, December 21.

Soyuz TMA-03M Lifted

NASA/Carla Cioffi

The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft is lifted on to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Monday, Dec. 19, 2011. The rocket is being prepared for launch on December 21 to carry the crew of Expedition 30 to the International Space Station.

Soyuz Rocket Stands Tall in Baikonur

NASA/Carla Cioffi

The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft stands on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The vehicle is slated to carry three new crewmembers to the International Space Station on Wednesday (Dec. 21).

Soyuz TMA-03M Approaches

NASA/Carla Cioffi

The Soyuz rocket is seen as it approaches the Soyuz launch pad on Monday, Dec. 21, 2011 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch of the Soyuz spacecraft will carry Expedition 30 Soyuz Commander Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers to the International Space Station.

Expedition 30 Launch Vehicle for the PromISSe Mission

ESA - S. Corvaja, 2011

Soyuz Engineers

NASA/Carla Cioffi

Launch pad engineers at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan are dwarfed by the large gantry mechanisms at the base of the Soyuz TMA-03M rocket following its rollout to the pad on Monday, Dec. 19, 2011. The rocket is being prepared for launch on December 21 to carry the crew of Expedition 30 to the International Space Station.

Soyuz TMA-03M on Train

NASA/Carla Cioffi

The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft is rolled out by train on its way to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Monday, Dec. 19, 2011.

Expedition 30 Soyuz Crew

NASA/Carla Cioffi

Expedition 30/31 crew members from left: NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit, Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko and European Space Agency Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers are seen following a press conference held at the Cosmonaut Hotel on Dec. 20, 2011, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

Expedition 30 Space Station Crew

NASA/Carla Cioffi

Expedition 30 crew members, from left, Don Pettit of NASA, Oleg Kononenko of Russia, and Andre Kuipers of the Netherlands speak at a press conference in Russia on Tuesday (Dec. 20), just a day before their scheduled launch to the International Space Station.

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