Launch Photos: Space Station's Expedition 41/42 Crew Blasts Off

Soyuz Rocket Rollout

NASA/Joel Kowsky

The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft is rolled out to the launch pad by train on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Read our launch story here.

Soyuz Rocket at the Launch Pad

NASA/Joel Kowsky

The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft is raised into position on the launch pad Sept. 23, 2014 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for Sept. 26 and will carry Expedition 41 Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore of NASA, and Flight Engineer Elena Serova of Roscosmos into orbit to begin their five and a half month mission on the International Space Station. Read our launch story here.

Soyuz Rocket Ready to Launch Expedition 41

NASA/Joel Kowsky

A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft towers over its launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome ahead of a Sept. 26, 2014 local time launch (Sept. 25 Eastern Time). The mission will launch the new Expedition 41 crew to the International Space Station. Read our launch story here.

Cosmonaut Elena Serova

RSC Energia

Russian cosmonaut Elena Serova is seen in her Sokol spacesuit ahead of a launch to the International Space Station on Sept. 25, 2014 Eastern Time (Sept. 26 Kazakhstan Time). Read our launch story here.

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Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.