A Russian rocket launched three astronauts, NASA’s Joe Acaba and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin, aboard a Soyuz spacecraft from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome toward the International Space Station on Monday May 14, starting a two-day journey to the huge orbiting lab.

The Soyuz spacecraft is expected to dock with the space station shortly after midnight on Thursday May 17. Once aboard, the three astronauts will bring the orbiting complex back to its full complement of six residents.

The launch was supposed to take place a long time ago,on March 29, but the flight was delayed for six weeks after a botched pressure test rendered the original Soyuz capsule unusable and forced a new one into service.

Here is a video showing the lift off of the space shuttle.

Source: Space.com