WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

A Soyuz spacecraft approaches the Pirs docking compartment on the International Space Station (ISS) carrying the Soyuz 5 taxi crew, Commander Sergei Zalyotin, Belgian Flight Engineer Frank DeWinne, and Flight Engineer Yuri V. Lonchakov for an eight-day stay on the station. The new Soyuz TMA-1 vehicle was designed to accommodate larger or smaller crewmembers, and is equipped with upgraded computers, a new cockpit control panel and improved avionics. Zalyotin and Lonchakov represent Rosaviakosmos and DeWinne represents the European Space Agency (ESA). The blackness of space and Earth’s horizon provide the backdrop for the scene.