Soyuz TMA-13M on the launch pad - Expedition 40/41 ready to orbit!

[PlonioFludrasco]

The Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft is raised into vertical position, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad, Monday, May 26, 2014, in Kazakhstan.

The launch of the Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) with Expedition 40/41 ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst, Russian cosmonaut Max Suraev and Reid Wiseman of NASA, is scheduled at 20:56 GMT on 28 May.

Live streaming on NASA TV: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

[Dodgey]

I still cannot get over the shear size of that place. What is the actual purpose of that massive concrete slipway, does it direct the exhaust?