Soyuz blasts off for space station

A Russian rocket blasted off from the Central Asian steppes and soared into space at dawn on Friday, catapulting three astronauts in a crowded capsule on a two-day journey to the International Space Station.

A Russian rocket blasted off from the Central Asian steppes and soared into space at dawn on Friday, catapulting three astronauts in a crowded capsule on a two-day journey to the International Space Station.

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Rays of light from the rising sun turned the smoky trail shades of pink, purple and orange as the Soyuz-FG rocket soared away from Russia’s base at the Baikonur cosmodrome with a Russian-US crew and an Italian astronaut.

Russia’s space programme has been the station’s lifeline for two years, delivering fresh scientists and supplies to the orbiting laboratory. Next month, however, the new crew will welcome a US space shuttle to the station when NASA revives a shuttle programme grounded after the Columbia disaster.