A Russian Soyuz rocket
launches from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz launch systems
were created in the 1960s,
and have proved extremely
reliable – the Russian Space
Agency has continued to
use the booster elements
(the bottom part of the
spacecraft) in modern
space missions. With 1,700
flights, these are the most
widely used launch systems
around the world. A Soyuz
vehicle is kept docked at the
International Space Station
at all times, in case
an escape craft is needed.Yelena Serova trains for
Expedition 41, her flight to the
International Space Station,
in 2014. Serova was the
fourth female cosmonaut,
but the first Russian woman
to go to the International
Space Station, on a mission
that lasted from September
2014 to March 2015. As a
Russian cosmonaut, she
trained for the journey in a
Soyuz spacecraft simulator.
On return, the Soyuz capsule
landed in Kazakhstan.
Nasa’s Anechoic Chambers
are among the quietest
places anywhere on Earth.
The walls absorb almost all
stray echoes, whether sound
or radio. This 1972 model of a
shuttle, being tested for radio
characteristics, has thruster
pods on the wing-tips.