English: Carrying the ISS Expedition 12 crew, Soyuz TMA-7, launched a few days earlier from the Baikinour Cosmodrome, approaches the International Space Station. The Aral Sea is clearly visible in the background.
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.