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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.