A Soyuz spacecraft carrying a three-man crew has successfully taken off from the Baikonur space complex in Kazakhstan.
The craft is scheduled to dock at the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday.
Two of the three astronauts on board will spend 175 days on the ISS, while the third will return to earth.
The US space agency, NASA, is hoping to resume shuttle missions to the ISS, possibly as early as next month.
