Live coverage: International Space Station crew lands in Kazakhstan

SpaceX launched a reduced two-man crew on a flight to the International Space Station Saturday, along with supplies and a pair of empty seats for two Starliner astronauts waiting to hitch a ride home in February after an unexpected eight-and-a-half-month stay in orbit.

The Russian Soyuz rocket that will carry a three-person crew to the International Space Station Wednesday has arrived on its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

These photos chronicle the activities of Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA astronaut Jack Fischer on Thursday as they prepared for liftoff on a Soyuz rocket to begin an expedition of more than four months on the International Space Station.