The next three humans bound for the International Space Station (ISS) are spending their final hours on Earth before launching into space tonight atop a Soyuz rocket.

NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao and Russian cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov, the two-person crew of ISS Expedition 10, and one visitor are set to launch toward the space station at 11:06 p.m. EDT (0306 Oct. 14 GMT) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

NASA TV's webcast of Expedition 10's launch begins at 10:15 p.m. EDT.

The flight will be staged from the same launch pad used for every manned launch by Russia including the historic spaceflight of Yuri Gagarin, who rocketed into space on April 12, 1961 to become the first human to reach orbit.

"This is just a historic place here at Baikonur," Chiao said on NASA TV. "It's great to be a part of it."

Russian ground crews rolled out Expedition 10's Soyuz rocket and spacecraft on a rail car early Oct. 12, hoisting it into the vertical launch position and began preparing it for flight.

While Chiao and Sharipov are both spaceflight veterans, tonight's launch will mark the first long-duration mission for the two men. The Expedition 10 crew will spend about six months aboard the ISS, with Chiao serving as NASA science officer and mission commander. Sharipov will command the Soyuz taxi trip to the space station and serve as the ISS flight engineer.

Source: Space.com