Next space station crew soars into orbit atop Soyuz

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying two rookie cosmonauts and a NASA shuttle veteran blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Monday evening (U.S. time), streaking into orbit and setting off after the International Space Station. Mounted on the same launch pad used by Yuri Gagarin to become the first human in space 50 years ago April 12, the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft roared to life at 6:18:20 p.m. EDT (GMT-4), the moment Earth's rotation carried the pad into the plane of the space station's orbit (4:18:20 a.m. April 5 local time). Belching brilliant jets of flame from its liquid-fueled strap-on boosters, the Soyuz rocket climbed away through a clear pre-dawn sky, putting on a spectacular show for Russian and U.S. space managers, family members, engineers and a throng of well wishers More

(Source: Space Flight Now - Apr 6)