Russian Soyuz crew lifts-off bound for the space station

Russia's Soyuz pre-dawn lift-off with a crew of three. (Roscosmos)

A Soyuz rocket with two Russians and one American lifted-off today for the International Space Station from the same launch pad which sent the first human into space fifty years ago this week.

The Soyuz TMA21 spacecraft, nicknamed Yuri Gagarin in honor of the first human to sail upon the ocean of space, lifted-off with cosmonauts Aleksander Samokutyaev, Andrei Borisenko and NASA astronaut Ronald Garan inside at 6:18:20 p.m. EDT(4:18 a.m. local time Tuesday).

Riding a top a Soyuz FG rocket powered by one RD-118 center engine and four small boosters, the craft soared from the desert of western Baikonur.

The crew of three departed earth at an exact moment which favored a low fuel method to catch up with and rendezvous with the orbiting lab on Wednesday.

At launch, the space station soared 222 miles over the southern Atlantic Ocean, northeast of the Falkland Islands.

The 162-foot grey rocket's liquid-fueled engine assisted by the four RD-117 liquid-fueled engines on attached side boosters, provided 1,143,378 pounds of thrust during the first two minutes of ascent.

Nine minutes into the crew's flight, the third stage separated from the Soyuz TMA 21, and settled into an orbit of 143 x 118 miles.

A minute later, the Soyuz commander Samokutyaev began flipping switches to deploy a high gain antenna and twin solar arrays.

Two hours prior to lift-off the crew boarded their Soyuz craft dressed in their Russian launch and entry pressurized suits.

As they climbed the ladder to the Soyuz craft, they turned and waved to the ground team.

The Gagarin craft will dock to the space station on Wednesday at 7:18 p.m.

Expedition 22 crew headed for Space Station

images via NASA & energia

The 22nd expedition crew is bound for the International Space Station.

On a beautiful, cold evening in Kazakhstan at the Baikonur Cosmodrome tonight, an American, Russian and Japanese astronaut boarded their Soyuz spacecraft and lifted-off toward a holiday link-up with earth's orbital outpost in space.

As a crescent Moon hung over the space center, American astronaut Timothy (T.J.) Creamer, Russian cosmonaut Oleg V. Kotov and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi boarded their Soyuz TMA-17 craft perched a top a Soyuz FG LV rocket at pad 1 two hours before launch.

As the countdown reached zero, fuel and support arms retracted away from the 151-foot tall rocket. The Soyuz FG's four liquid fueled boosters and core main engine ignited on time launching the international crew of three upward at 4:52 pm EST (2152 GMT) from it's pad.

As the Soyuz launched, the Space Station flew 224 statue miles over the southern coast of Chilie, South America.

Two minutes into the rocket's climb to orbit, the boosters emptied their fuel and were jettisoned. Seven minutes later, the craft was in low earth orbit of 125 statue miles.

Creamer is making his first trip into space, while Kotov and Noguchi are each making their second visit to the space station.

After completing 34 orbits of the earth, the Soyuz TMA17 will make a slow approach to the station and dock to the Russian Zarya module on Tuesday. Docking time is planned for 5:54 pm EST (1:54 am Moscow time), however docking will likely happen a few minutes earlier than planned based on the quickness of their orbital rendezvous.

Once docked, the trio will join Expedition 22 Commander Jeffery Williams and Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev who have been aboard the space station since October 2.

Russian Soyuz to carry new crew to Station

The two-man crew of the International Space Station will receive three new crew mates in a few days as a Russian Space Agency Soyuz rocket prepares for launch on Sunday.

American Jeffery Williams and Russian Maxim Suraev have been alone 222 miles above earth aboard the station for the last few weeks, and they are looking forward to the Soyuz's arrival on Tuesday.

American astronaut T.J. Creamer, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi will begin a six month voyage upon the vast ocean of space as members of both the station's Expedition 22 and 23 crews.

The Soyuz FG rocket (above, on Dec. 18) with the Soyuz TMA 17 spacecraft will lift-off on Sunday at 4:52 pm EST, (2152 GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

After a two day orbital chase to catch up with the space station, the TMA 17 will slowly move in and dock with the PIERS segment at 5:54 pmEST (22:54 GMT) on Tuesday.

Included with the international crew of three will be fresh supplies such as food, water, experiments, and small hardware in support of station operations.

Between now and February, the orbital outpost will see a lot of activity as the Soyuz docks; an unmanned Russian Progress 36P cargo ship docks on Feb. 5; and the space shuttle Endeavour arrives on Feb. 9 with the massive Tranquility module and the Cupola section.

SpaceLaunchNews.com will carry the launch LIVE beginning at 4PM EST (2100 GMT) on Sunday. Follow us via Twitter via @spacelaunchnews.