Soyuz rocket starts trip to space station

Soyuz rocket starts trip to space station

BAIKONUR, KAZAKHSTAN – A Russian, an American and an Italian soared into space atop a Soyuz rocket Friday, greeting the dawn over the Central Asian steppes as they hurtled toward an orbital rendezvous with the International Space Station.

The spacecraft is expected to dock with the station Sunday, after which Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and American John Phillips will replace the crew. Their six months on the orbiting station will include welcoming the first space shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster two years ago.

As the sun rose over Russia’s base at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Soyuz-FG rocket soared into the sky on a plume of exhaust, colored pink, purple and orange by the dawn’s rays. Engineers at Russian Mission Control outside Moscow applauded when an announcer confirmed the spacecraft had entered orbit.

The arrival of Mr. Krikalev and Mr. Phillips signals the end of the six-month mission for cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov and astronaut Leroy Chiao. Italian Roberto Vittori will escort them home in 10 days.