BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan - A Russian capsule carrying two cosmonauts and Korea's first astronaut has blasted off en route to the international space station.
The Soyuz TMA-12 craft lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome on time, roaring into the evening skies over Kazakhstan.
Korean bioengineer Yi So-yeon and cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Sergei Volkov will spend two days in the cramped capsule before docking at the orbiting station on Thursday.
It's the first space flight for all three, including Volkov, the son of a decorated Soviet-era cosmonaut.
