Expedition 26 Prelaunch, Russian space program

NASA Expedition 26 NASA Flight Engineer Catherine Coleman, center, is seen receiving the traditional blessing from a Russian Orthodox priest at the Cosmonaut Hotel the evening before her Soyuz launch to the International Space Station on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Coleman, Soyuz Commander Dmitry Kondratyev and European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli launched to the ISS onboard a Soyuz rocket the following morning from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)