Gallery: The Next ISS Soyuz Rolls Out to the Launchpad

By Nancy Atkinson October 23, 2012
Gallery: The Next ISS Soyuz Rolls Out to the Launchpad

The Soyuz rocket is rolled out to the launch pad by train, on Sunday, October 21, 2012, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

The Soyuz rocket is rolled out to the launch pad by train. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

No smoking! Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Soyuz is raised to the upright position on the launchpad. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The train engineer hangs out the window. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Pad workers install a safety railing at the launch pad. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The Expedition 33 backup crew, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy (left), Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, right, are photographed in front of the Soyuz rocket shortly after it arrived at the launch pad. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Workers climb up to the Soyuz rocket after it was erected at the launch pad. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com