Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut took off for the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday for a six-month mission honoring the 60th anniversary of the sending of the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin.
"All the parameters are in the norm", noted at regular intervals the control center which qualified the flight as "normal".
Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut took off on Friday to the International Space Station (ISS), a launch honoring the 60th anniversary of the sending of the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin.
Their Soyuz rocket tore from Earth's gravity as expected at 0742 GMT from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
For the occasion, the launcher was decorated with the white and blue profile of their illustrious predecessor whose legendary flight dates back to April 12, 1961. "All the parameters are in the standard", noted at regular intervals the control center which qualified theft of "normal".
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A six-month mission
About nine minutes after takeoff, the separation of the Soyuz spacecraft, baptized for the occasion by the name of Gagarin, took place without incident at an altitude of about 200 km.
Oleg Novitsky and Piotr Doubrov, of the Russian agency Roscosmos, and Mark Vande Hei, of NASA, are leaving for a six-month stay on the ISS.
The capsule should dock at 11:07 GMT.
On board the station, seven colleagues are waiting for them.
Two Russians, Sergei Ryzhikov and Sergei Kud-Svertchkov, and the American Kate Rubins are then due to return to dry land on April 17.
"Set the dinner table for 10," astronaut Mark Vande Hei tweeted to his future roommates shortly before takeoff.
During the traditional pre-departure press conference, he and his comrades confirmed that they would celebrate, on April 12, the feat of their predecessor, Yuri Gagarin.
"We will celebrate it together," noted Piotr Doubrov, 43, for whom this will be the first space mission.
"And we will work hard!"
A flight celebrated every year
Every year, Gagarin's flight is celebrated with devotion all over Russia, where flowers are laid at the foot of the many monuments to his glory.
On Friday, the three men took off from Baikonur, like Gagarin, but from a different firing point from his.
The latter is being modified, at least until 2023, to be able to accommodate the new generation of Soyuz rockets.
Gagarin's mission was a great victory for the USSR in the space race between it and the United States.
The cosmonaut, on his return to Earth, was put to the service of Soviet propaganda until his tragic death in a plane crash in troubled circumstances, in 1968.