International crew blasts off for space station - Telegraph.co.uk

The Russian Soyuz rocket lifted off at 4:31pm. EDT (2031 GMT), streaking through clear, predawn skies in Kazakhstan as it headed into orbit, a Nasa TV broadcast showed. In command of the Soyuz capsule was cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, 54, who already has made two long-duration flights aboard the space station and one aboard NASA's now-retired space shuttle. He was joined by Luca Parmitano, 36, a major in the Italian Air Force. Mr Parmitano, who initially studied political science and international law at the University of Naples, and will be the first Italian to live aboard the station. Nasa allotted the crew slot to the Italian Space Agency as part of a barter agreement for cargo carriers that were taken to the station aboard the shuttles. One module was converted into a storage closet and left aboard the station. Rounding out the crew is Nasa astronaut Karen Nyberg, a 43-year-old mechanical engineer who has one previous space flight on her resume, a two-week shuttle mission. She leaves behind her astronaut husband, Doug Hurley, and their 3-year-old son, Jack. The crew is expected to reach the space station, which orbits about 250 miles above Earth about six hours after launch, an expedited trip that has been made by only one other previous crew. Awaiting their arrival are station Commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineers Alexander Misurkin and Chris Cassidy. The men are two months into a planned six-month mission. The combined crews will oversee more than 100 research experiments and technology tests currently under way aboard the station. Nyberg, an avid quilter, said she also was bringing along sewing supplies, a sketch book and pencils. via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNErKlgGgaf7Dkj8iS8w4LCpZ7M4FA&url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/10085602/International-crew-blasts-off-for-space-station.html

Put the internet to work for you. via Personal Recipe 2954071