Expedition 50 ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet receives a traditional blessing from a Russian Orthodox Priest prior to departing the Cosmonaut Hotel, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Pesquet, NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the morning of November 18 (Kazakh time)(Nov. 17 Eastern.) All three will spend approximately six months on the orbital complex.

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