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The Associated Press Posted: Nov 23, 2014 5:22 PM ET Last Updated: Nov 23, 2014 5:22 PM ET
A Russian capsule carrying astronauts from Russia, the United States and Italy has blasted off for the International Space Station.
The Soyuz capsule roared into the predawn darkness just after 3 a.m. local time on Monday from the Russian manned space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
Aboard the capsule are Russian Anton Shkaplerov, NASA’s Terry Virts and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy.
The craft will dock with the space station about six hours after launch, where they will join three others already aboard. They include Russian Elana Serova, and Cristoforetti’s arrival will make it the second time in the station’s 16-year history that two women have been aboard on long-term missions.
