[singlepic=256,180,,right]The last days before launch have been spent saying goodbye to my family from behind a glass wall. We had the last discussions with instructors and managers and finally the commission that officially goes through our flight and declares us ready, all from behind the glass wall. I had the time to pack the things that I will see again in half a year’s time. I also walked to the famous cosmonaut trees view the winter steppe and sniff the wonderfully cold air. The night before flight we traditionally watch a film: White Sun of the Desert. I know it by heart by now but it is a good opportunity to relax before going to sleep.

The big day
The big day has arrived. The launch time is seven o’clock in the evening in Kazachstan so we have a regular night and day during preparations. Wake up at nine and eat a light breakfast to start the day. We wash carefully and try to get as clean as possible by using alcohol wipes. We are given our special underwear for the day and our flight overalls. At twelve we have to be ready for launch. [singlepic=257,180,,left]We eat lunch then have a small meeting in the commander’s room with our close managers, the backup crew and our wives. Speeches and a toast are given, with our glasses filled with water. A moment of silence before a glass is traditionally thrown to pieces in a corner of the room. Then we leave the room and write our signatures on the doors. In the hallway we are blessed by a Russian Orthodox priest who uses a lot of water.

In a quick tempo we continue. Down the stairs, threw a crowd of guests, outside and to the buses. At the launch site we can eat and relax but shortly it is time to put on our diapers, new underwear and the electrodes for the electrocardiography. Then we put on our space suits and it is time to do a leak test of the suits. We do this in a room with a large glass window so that our family can see us. A special moment.

Having a pee
And then the time has arrived to walk outside, hunched over in our space suits, to greet the public and the members of the commission. After a brief wave we climb into the bus and drive to the launch platform.[singlepic=255,180,,right]Shortly before arriving at the platform the bus stops and we all get out for the traditional pee against a wheel of the bus. Gagarin did this, so now all astronauts do it. For people who find it hard to pee in a diaper it is their last chance for hours…

We walk a short distance from the bus to the rocket, which is visible for the first time as a complete unit. On the stairs to the lift we turn to wave and then up to the entrance of the capsule. Our boots are removed and I enter first. Carefully, in my stiff space suit, I let myself be lowered onto the commander’s chair in the command capsule. I close the hatch above me so that I can shuffle over to my own chair to the left. Once there I open the hatch for the technician who will assist me. I attach the ventilation and oxygen tubes and then the radio and ECG cable. I turn on the ventilation of my suit and check the position of the buttons and controls. Then the belts are tightened so that I am firmly secured in my cramped space. In the mean time NASA astronaut Don Pettit and my commander Oleg Kononenko have clambered in and taken up their positions. Once they attach their ventilation hoses, I turn on their ventilation as well.

Music
We are now two and a half hours before launch and we check all systems and make radio contact. We also do another leak test of our suits. Regularly we have breaks while ground control prepare for launch. At one point music is played to make the waiting more agreeable. I chose some songs, of which four are from Dutch artists. Pastorale by Ramses Shaffy and Liesbeth List seemed appropriate for a launch in a powerful rocket while my children look on…

Then the helmets are closed and the time has come…