S116-E-05968 Credit: NASA

S116-E-05968 (12 Dec. 2006) --- Astronaut Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., STS-116 mission specialist, participates in the mission's first of three planned sessions of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction resumes on the International Space Station. European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang (out of frame), mission specialist, also participated in the 6-hour, 36-minute spacewalk.

JSC2006-E-40674 Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

(18 Sept. 2006) --- The Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Sept. 18, 2006 carrying a new crew to the International Space Station. The Soyuz lifted off at 10:09 a.m. Baikonur time with astronaut Michael E. Lopez-Alegria, Expedition 14 commander and NASA space station science officer; cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, Soyuz commander and flight engineer representing Russia's Federal Space Agency; and spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari, who will spend nine days on the station under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency.

Inset: ISS013-E-84312 (18-20 Sept. 2006) --- Spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari photographed in the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft in-route to the International Space Station with the Expedition 14 crewmembers. Ansari is wearing a Russian Sokol launch and entry suit.

ISS011-E-14111 Credit: NASA

(3 October 2005) --- Backdropped by the blackness of space and Earth’s horizon, the Soyuz TMA-7 spacecraft approaches the international space station.

Onboard the spacecraft are astronaut William S. McArthur, Jr., Expedition 12 commander and NASA science officer; cosmonaut Valery I. Tokarev, Expedition 12 flight engineer and Soyuz commander; and U. S. Spaceflight Participant Gregory Olsen. The Soyuz linked up to the Pirs Docking Compartment at 12:27 a.m. (CDT) on Oct. 3, 2005 as the two spacecraft flew over eastern Asia. The docking followed Friday’s launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

KSC-06PD-0899 Credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

Amid the glow of lights from the fixed and rotating service structures, Space Shuttle Discovery rests on the hardstand of Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after completing the 4.2-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building. First motion was at 12:45 p.m. EDT. The shuttle rests on a mobile launcher platform. The rollout is an important step before launch of Discovery on mission STS-121 to the International Space Station. Discovery's launch is targeted for July 1 in a launch window that extends to July 19. During the 12-day mission, Discovery's crew will test new hardware and techniques to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the station.

S116-E-06110 Credit: NASA

(13 Dec. 2006) --- Astronaut Sunita L. Williams, Expedition 14 flight engineer, works in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. Astronauts Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., STS-116 mission specialist, and Michael E. Lopez-Alegria, Expedition 14 commander and NASA space station science officer, are visible in the background.

ISS013-E-47643 Credit: NASA

(6 July 2006) --- A close-up view of Space Shuttle Discovery's tail section is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 13 crewmember on the International Space Station during RPM survey.

Visible are the shuttle's main engines, vertical stabilizer, orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods and a portion of the aft cargo bay and wings.

S114-E-6455 Credit: NASA

(3 August 2005) --- This image features a view of Space Shuttle Discovery docked to the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA-2) on the Destiny laboratory of the international space station. The Crew Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) cart and the Mobile Base System (MBS), mounted on the S0 truss, are visible at left. Part of the P1 truss is also visible in the background. Dwarfed by the station and shuttle, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, STS-114 mission specialist, is visible near the PMA-2 during the mission’s third session of extravehicular activity (EVA). The blackness of space and a blue and white Earth form the backdrop for the image.

ISS014-E-10063 Credit: NASA

(18 Dec. 2006) --- Astronaut Robert L. Curbeam Jr., STS-116 mission specialist, works with the port overhead solar array wing on the International Space Station's P6 truss during the mission's fourth session of extravehicular activity (EVA). European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang (out of frame), mission specialist, worked in tandem with Curbeam, using specially prepared, tape-insulated tools, to guide the array wing neatly inside its blanket box during the 6-hour, 38-minute spacewalk.

ISS013-E-78960 Credit: NASA

A spacesuit-turned-satellite was released from the International Space Station during a spacewalk by Expedition 12 crewmembers. SuitSat, an unneeded Russian Orlan spacesuit, was outfitted with batteries, internal sensors and a radio transmitter. It faintly transmitted recorded voices of school children to amateur radio operators worldwide. It entered the atmosphere and burned up after a few weeks. This is a photomontage with SuitSat superimposed on a picture of the rising sun and Earth's horizon by an Expedition 13 crewmember. ISS012-E-16905 2006.2.03 plus ISS013-E-78960 2006.9.09

ISS013-E-49645 Credit: Michael Fossum, NASA

(8 July 2006) --- Astronaut Michael E. Fossum, STS-121 mission specialist, used a digital still camera to expose a photo of his helmet visor during today's session of extravehicular activity (EVA) while Space Shuttle Discovery was docked with the International Space Station.

Also visible in the reflections in the visor are fellow spacewalker Piers J. Sellers, mission specialist, Earth's horizon and a station solar array. Fossum’s reflection, in turn, is visible in Sellers’ helmet, as is the reflection of the reflection of the sun off the camera.

S116-E-05963 Credit: NASA

(12 Dec. 2006) --- European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang, STS-116 mission specialist, participates in the mission's first of three planned sessions of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction resumes on the International Space Station. Astronaut Robert L. Curbeam, Jr. (out of frame), mission specialist, also participated in the 6-hour, 36-minute spacewalk.

S116-E-05983 Credit: NASA

(12 Dec. 2006) --- Backdropped by New Zealand and Cook Strait in the Pacific Ocean, astronaut Robert L. Curbeam Jr. (left) and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang, both STS-116 mission specialists, participate in the mission's first of three planned sessions of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction continues on the International Space Station. Cook Strait divides New Zealand's North and South Islands.

S116-E-07154 Credit: NASA

(19 Dec. 2006) --- Backdropped by the blackness of space, clouds and Earth's horizon, the International Space Station is seen as it and Space Shuttle Discovery begin their relative separation. Earlier the STS-116 and Expedition 14 crews concluded eight days of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 4:10 p.m. (CST) on Dec. 19, 2006. Astronaut William A. (Bill) Oefelein, STS-116 pilot, was at the controls for the fly-around, which gave Discovery's crew a look at its handiwork, a new P5 spacer truss segment and a fully retracted P6 solar array wing. During their stay on orbital outpost, the combined crew installed the newest piece of the station's backbone and completely rewired the power grid over the course of four spacewalks.