On 12 October 2008, at 11h 01min (Moscow time) the Soyuz TMA-13 manned spaceship was successfully launched by a Soyuz-FG launch vehicle from the BaikonurCosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Its mission is to deliver the 18thExpedition crew – Commander YuryLonchakov (Russia), astronaut Michael Edward Fink (NASA) and space tourist Richard Garriott – to the international space station. During the flight, the expedition members will have to carry out a number of scientific experiments. YuryLonchakovand Michael Edward Fink will spend almost six months in orbit.