- Source: CNN " data-fave-thumbnails="{"big": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/111114061842-von-soyuz-crew-launch-00001505.jpg?q=x_0,y_0,h_720,w_1280,c_fill/h_540,w_960" }, "small": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/111114061842-von-soyuz-crew-launch-00001505.jpg?q=x_0,y_0,h_720,w_1280,c_fill/h_540,w_960" } }" data-vr-video="false" data-show-html="" data-byline-html="
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Updated 8:32 AM EST, Wed December 21, 2011
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Soyuz crew heads to space station
01:01 - Source: CNN

Story highlights

The Soyuz TMA-03M carries U.S. and European astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut

The Russia spacecraft will dock on Friday

CNN  — 

A Russian rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, with a crew of three bound for the International Space Station.

The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft carries U.S. astronaut Don Pettit, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers into orbit.

The launch happened just before 8:20 a.m. ET.

The trio will join their crewmates – Flight Engineers Dan Burbank, Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin – when their spacecraft docks with the space station Friday morning at 10:22 a.m.