A Russian Orthodox priest blesses the Soyuz rocket and members of the media as ISS Expedition 40 in prelaunch preparations May 27, 2014 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Cosmonaut Maxim Suraev of the Russian Federal Space Agency and Astronauts Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency and Reid Wiseman of NASA launch May 29 for a 5 ½ month mission on the International Space Station.

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A Russian Orthodox priest blesses the Soyuz rocket and members of the media as ISS Expedition 40 in prelaunch preparations May 27, 2014 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Cosmonaut Maxim Suraev of the Russian Federal Space Agency and Astronauts Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency and Reid Wiseman of NASA launch May 29 for a 5 ½ month mission on the International Space Station.

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Size: 5099px × 3492px
Location: Baikonur, Kazakhstan
Photo credit: © NASA Photo / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: baikonur, bile, blesses, blessing, camera, ceremony, day, horizontal, iss, kazakhstan, nasa, outdoors, phone, pre-launch, religion, rocket, rosmos, soyuz, superstition, tradition