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Astronaut Leroy Chiao, Expedition 10 commander and NASA International Space Station (ISS) science officer, cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov, Russia’s Federal Space Agency flight engineer and Soyuz commander, and Russian Space Forces cosmonaut Yuri Shargin join VIP’s for the crew departure breakfast prior to leaving Star City for Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The trio will launch on the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft October 14, 2004, to the ISS. Chiao and Sharipov will spend six months on the Station, while Shargin will return to Earth October 23 (U.S.A. time) with cosmonaut Gennady I. Padalka, Expedition 9 commander, and astronaut Edward M. (Mike) Fincke, NASA ISS science officer and flight engineer, who have been in space since April.