Engineers at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan are making final preparations for the planned Sunday launch of a Soyuz rocket carrying a space tourist and two long-duration crew members to the international space station.

Expedition 18 commander Mike Fincke, flight engineer Yury Lonchakov and Richard Garriott, a computer game designer and son of former shuttle astronaut Owen Garriott, are scheduled for liftoff at 3:01:29 a.m. EDT Sunday from the same pad used by Yuri Gagarin. If all goes well, Lonchakov will guide the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft to a docking at the downward port of the central Russian Zarya module around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Here is a timeline of major events through rendezvous and docking with the space station. The pre-launch timeline is simply a generic Soyuz countdown synched to the actual launch time of Soyuz TMA-13. As such, some events may be off by a few minutes. It is provided to give readers a "ballpark" idea of when critical events are scheduled to occur (best viewed with fixed-width font):

EDT...........EVENT

10/11/08

09:01 PM......Batteries installed in booster
09:01 PM......Crew arrives at site 254
09:31 PM......State commission 'go'
10:01 PM......Tanking begins
10:11 PM......Spacesuit donning
11:01 PM......Booster is loaded with liquid oxygen
11:21 PM......Crew meets delegations
11:56 PM......Reports to the state commission

10/12/08

12:01 AM......Transfer to launch pad
12:01 AM......1st/2nd stage oxygen fueling complete
12:21 AM......Crew arrives at launch vehicle
12:26 AM......Crew ingress through orbital module side hatch
12:56 AM......Crew in re-entry vehicle
01:16 AM......Re-entry vehicle hardware tested; suits are ventilated
01:31 AM......Hatch sealed and tested
02:01 AM......Launch vehicle control system preps; gyro activation
02:16 AM......Launch pad service structure halves lowered
02:21 AM......Suit leak checks; re-entry vehicle testing complete
02:31 AM......Emergency escape system armed
02:36 AM......Service towers retracted
02:46 AM......Suit leak checks complete; escape system to auto
02:51 AM......Gyros uncaged; on-board recorders activated
02:54 AM......Prelaunch operations complete
02:55 AM......Final launch countdown operations to auto
02:55 AM......Launch complex and vehicle systems ready
02:56 AM......Onboard systems switch to onboard control;
02:56 AM......CDR's controls activated; helmets closed
02:56 AM......Launch key inserted in launch bunker
02:58 AM......Combustion chamber nitrogen purge
02:58:59 AM...Booster propellant tank pressurization begins
02:59:14 AM...Ground propellant feed terminated
03:00:29 AM...Vehicle to internal power; 1st umbilical tower separates
03:00:49 AM...Ground power umbilical to 3rd stage separates
03:01:09 AM...Launch command given; central/side pod engines on
03:01:14 AM...Second umbilical tower separates
03:01:19 AM...Engine turbopumps at flight speed
03:01:24 AM...Engines at maximum thrust

03:01:29 AM...LIFTOFF

03:02:39 AM...Velocity 1,100 mph
03:03:27 AM...Stage 1 strap-on boosters separate
03:03:29 AM...Velocity 3,350 mph
03:04:09 AM...Escape tower/launch shroud jettison
03:06:27 AM...Core booster separates at 105 statute miles
03:08:59 AM...Velocity 13,420 mph
03:10:29 AM...Third stage shutdown; Soyuz separation
06:36 AM......DV1 rendezvous rocket firing (dV: 44.2 mph)
07:28 AM......DV2 rendezvous rocket firing (dV: 17.0 mph)

10/13/08

04:01 AM......DV3 rendezvous rocket firing (dV: 4.5 mph)

10/14/08

12:24 AM......ISS US-to-Russian motion control system handover
02:06 AM......Automated rendezvous and docking start
02:22 AM......ISS maneuvers to docking attitude
02:28 AM......AR&D DV4 impulse 1 (dV: 47.5 mph)
02:50 AM......AR&D impulse 2 (dV: 2.6 mph)
02:53 AM......Soyuz/KURS-A rendezvous nav activation
02:55 AM......Zvezda/KURS-P activation
03:13 AM......AR&D DV5 impulse 3 (dV: 49.3 mph)
03:14 AM......Range: 62 miles
03:18 AM......Good KURS-P data at 50 miles
03:39 AM......KURS short test at 9.3 miles
03:47 AM......Range: 5 miles; Soyuz TV activation
03:55 AM......AR&D impulse 4 (dV: 15.3 mph)
03:56 AM......AR&D ballistic targeting point
04:00 AM......AR&D impulse 5 (dV: 7.9 mph)
04:03 AM......AR&D impulse 6 (dV: 3.3 mph)
04:04 AM......AR&D fly around mode start
04:13 AM......AR&D stationkeeping start
04:20 AM......Russian ground station AOS
04:23 AM......AR&D final approach start

04:32 AM......DOCKING

04:37 AM......Russian ground station LOS
04:52 AM......Sunset
04:52 AM......Soyuz hooks closed; ISS to LVLH
06:04 AM......ISS Russian-to-U.S. motion control system handover

Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: SOYUZ MOVED TO LAUNCH PAD FOR EXPEDITION 18 PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH ISS DEPUTY PROGRAM MANAGER PLAY
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH FLIGHT CREW OPS DIRECTOR PLAY
VIDEO: ASSEMBLY OF SOYUZ ROCKET COMPLETED PLAY

VIDEO: EXPEDITION 18 PRE-FLIGHT MISSION BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: ISS PROGRAM MANAGER UPDATES SOYUZ INVESTIGATION PLAY
VIDEO: ISS PROGRAM MANAGER DESCRIBES SARJ REPAIR PLAN PLAY
VIDEO: ISS PROGRAM MANAGER DISCUSSES RADIATOR DAMAGE PLAY

VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH SPACE STATION'S EXPEDITION 17 CREW PLAY
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR COMMANDER AND PILOT PRACTICE LANDINGS PLAY
VIDEO: AERIAL VIEWS OF ATLANTIS AND ENDEAVOUR PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR AT SUNRISE ON LAUNCH PAD 39B PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: AERIAL VIEWS OF ENDEAVOUR AFTER ROLLOUT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR ROLLS FROM VAB TO LAUNCH PAD PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ARRIVAL AT PAD 39B PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ENDEAVOUR LEAVING VAB PLAY

VIDEO: SHUTTLE HOISTED FOR ATTACHMENT TO TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR'S DEPARTURE FROM HANGAR PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ENDEAVOUR GOING VERTICAL PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF BEING HOISTED OFF TRANSPORTER PLAY
VIDEO: TIME-LAPSE MOVIE OF ENDEAVOUR MOVING TO VAB PLAY
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