Image 8-23
Soyuz in Orbit

This image shows the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft approaching the International Space Station, carrying Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, Soyuz commander and Expedition 22 flight engineer; along with NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, both flight engineers. Docking to the Zarya nadir port occurred at 4:48 p.m. (CST) on December 22, 2009. The trio launched aboard the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft at 3:52 p.m. on December 20 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.