September 2, 2006. Baikonur Cosmodrome.

The prime crew (M.V. Tyurin (Russia), M. Lopez-Alegria (USA), A Ansari (USA)) and the backup crew (Y.I. Malenchenko (Russia) and P. Whitson (USA) of Soyuz TMA-9 transport vehicle arrived to Baikonur cosmodrome. At the airport they were met by N.N. Sevastyanov, S.P. Korolev RSC Energia President, General Designer and other Corporation managers.
The crew commanders reported to Nikolai Sevastyanov about their readiness for preflight trainings. From September 4 through September 18 the cosmonauts and astronauts will have to accomplish trainings and accept Soyuz TMA-9 space vehicle.