<p>Three astronauts blasted off today from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome towards the International Space Station in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft.<br /><br /></p>.<p>First-time astronauts Kathleen Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency set off for a four-month mission at the ISS with two-time Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin at 0136 GMT.<br /><br />"And lift-off!" said a commentator on NASA TV, which broadcast footage of the launch in Kazakhstan.<br /><br />The trio's launch was delayed by over two weeks as Russian space officials carried out further software tests on the modified vehicle.<br /><br />Features of the new Soyuz series include upgraded boosters, an improved navigation system, strengthened shielding from debris and more cells on the craft's solar panels.<br /><br />NASA's Rubins will be the first woman aboard the ISS since Italian Samantha Cristoforetti returned to earth with the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (199 days) in June last year.<br /><br />The molecular biologist, accepted into the space program in 2009, will also become the first person to sequence DNA in space during her mission.<br /><br />Takuya Onishi, who trained as a pilot on Japan's largest commercial airliner is the eleventh Japanese national to enter space.<br /><br />His journey to the ISS where he will participate in experiments connected to the Japanese space agency's Kibo program coincides with the Tanabata star festival celebrated across his homeland.<br /><br />Flight Engineer Ivanishin has already logged over 165 days in space following his first mission at the ISS in 2011 and 2012.<br /><br />The ISS space laboratory has been orbiting Earth at about 28,000 kilometres per hour since 1998. <br /></p>
<p>Three astronauts blasted off today from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome towards the International Space Station in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft.<br /><br /></p>.<p>First-time astronauts Kathleen Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency set off for a four-month mission at the ISS with two-time Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin at 0136 GMT.<br /><br />"And lift-off!" said a commentator on NASA TV, which broadcast footage of the launch in Kazakhstan.<br /><br />The trio's launch was delayed by over two weeks as Russian space officials carried out further software tests on the modified vehicle.<br /><br />Features of the new Soyuz series include upgraded boosters, an improved navigation system, strengthened shielding from debris and more cells on the craft's solar panels.<br /><br />NASA's Rubins will be the first woman aboard the ISS since Italian Samantha Cristoforetti returned to earth with the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (199 days) in June last year.<br /><br />The molecular biologist, accepted into the space program in 2009, will also become the first person to sequence DNA in space during her mission.<br /><br />Takuya Onishi, who trained as a pilot on Japan's largest commercial airliner is the eleventh Japanese national to enter space.<br /><br />His journey to the ISS where he will participate in experiments connected to the Japanese space agency's Kibo program coincides with the Tanabata star festival celebrated across his homeland.<br /><br />Flight Engineer Ivanishin has already logged over 165 days in space following his first mission at the ISS in 2011 and 2012.<br /><br />The ISS space laboratory has been orbiting Earth at about 28,000 kilometres per hour since 1998. <br /></p>