A Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russians and an American blasted off on September 11 for an express trip to the International Space Station. The space capsule atop a towering rocket set off from Russia’s space launch facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, and was scheduled to dock with the space station three hours later, in contrast to some missions that last for days. The mission commander is Aleksei Ovchinin, with Russian compatriot Ivan Vagner and American Donald Pettit in the crew. The rocket blasted off without obvious problems, and the Soyuz entered orbit eight minutes after liftoff.
Soyuz Craft Heads To ISS With 2 Russians, 1 American
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft blasts off to the ISS from Kazakhstan on September 11.