The docking probe on the front of Soyuz has retracted, allowing the hooks and latches to close and form a seal between the capsule and station. Pressure and leak checks will be performed over the next orbit before the hatchway is opened for the crew to enter into the station in a couple of hours.

Over the next few minutes, the Soyuz docking probe will retract to allow hooks and latches to bring the spacecraft to a firm seal with the station. Hatches between the two vehicles will be opened around 12:25 a.m. EDT (0425 GMT).

Docking occurred over 250 miles over the Pacific.

DOCKING! The Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft has docked to the Rassvet module of the space station, delivering Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren and Japanese flight engineer Kimiya Yui to the complex after a fast-track six-hour rendezvous following liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Kononenko, Lindgren and Yui are starting a five-month expedition on the space station. They are due to return to Earth in December.

Standing by for contact and capture momentarily.

The Soyuz spacecraft is closing in on the Poisk docking port at 0.2 meters per second, or about one-half mile per hour.

The Soyuz completed the flyaround to align with the docking port. It's now on a computer-controlled final approach to the space station's Rassvet module.

The flyaround has begun. Soyuz is flying itself around the international outpost to get into the approach corridor leading to the Rassvet module's docking port. This flyaround occurs at a range of about 350 meters.

Current range to docking is 4.5 km.

All is in readiness for arrival of the Soyuz spacecraft in 46 minutes. The space station is reported to be in the proper attitude for docking.

No major problems have been reported during the Soyuz rendezvous sequence. The Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft should have established a communications link with the International Space Station by now, the capsule's Kurs navigation radar should be activated, and the automated rendezvous is underway.

Docking with the space station's Earth-facing Rassvet module is set for one hour from now at 0246 GMT (10:46 p.m. EDT).

The mixed messages continue. Russian mission control in Moscow just radioed the International Space Station crew that "Plane 4" of the Soyuz solar arrays did not deploy following launch.

Ground controllers are requesting photos of the solar array from the crew aboard the space station as the Soyuz TMA-17M spaceship approaches the outpost later tonight for docking at 0246 GMT (10:46 p.m. EDT).

A NASA spokesperson tells Spaceflight Now both solar arrays and all antennas have deployed on the Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft. The update posted, apparently in error, on NASA's website a few minutes ago has been deleted and replaced with a statement confirming all is normal aboard the crew ferry craft en route to the International Space Station.

NASA confirms the port solar array on the Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft did not fully extend following launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, but officials expect no impact to the capsule's rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station at 0246 GMT (10:46 p.m. EDT).

"The Soyuz 43S vehicle has achieved a stable orbit after a nominal ascent, and all antennas have deployed," NASA wrote in on its website. "However, the port solar array, plane 4, has not deployed. The starboard array deployed as planned."

A solar array on a Soyuz spacecraft launched to the space station in September 2014 also did not deploy after launch, and the ship safely docked to the outpost. The solar panel unfurled shortly after it arrived at the station.

Russian Soyuz commander Oleg Kononenko, JAXA flight engineer Kimiya Yui and NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren have arrived in orbit following a good launch aboard the Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Both solar arrays have apparently unfurled aboard the spacecraft to generate electricity, and the first major orbit-adjustment maneuver is planned for 5:45 p.m. EDT (2145 GMT) to begin raising the capsule's altitude to match that of the space station.

A second "delta velocity" burn is set for 6:26 p.m. EDT (2226 GMT), followed by several more firings over the next few hours to set up for rendezvous and docking.

The 7.9-ton capsule's automated rendezvous sequence, guided by its Kurs radar system, will commence at 8:40 p.m. EDT (0040 GMT).

The Soyuz should be in position to start a flyaround maneuver at range of about 400 meters, or 1,300 feet, at about 10:25 p.m. EDT (0225 GMT) to line up with the docking port on the space station's Earth-facing Rassvet module. Soyuz commander Oleg Kononenko will be standing by to take over manual flying of the spacecraft if required. Final approach will begin about 11 minutes before docking, which is scheduled for 10:46 p.m. EDT (0246 GMT).

The docking should occur 5 hours and 43 minutes after liftoff.

The crew has confirmed both solar arrays have been extended from the Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft.

NASA says the Soyuz spacecraft is completing a programmed sequence to deploy the power-generating solar arrays, as well as antennas for navigational and communication systems.

However, only one of the Soyuz capsule's solar arrays is now confirmed to be deployed.

T+plus 9 minutes. CAPSULE SEPARATION! The Soyuz spacecraft is flying free after the upper stage finished its engine firing and then separated away. The capsule is in pursuit of the International Space Station for a planned docking at 10:46 p.m. EDT (0246 GMT).

T+plus 8 minutes. About a minute remains in the propulsion by the upper stage. The motor consumes kerosene and liquid oxygen just like the Soyuz rocket's other powerplants.

T+plus 7 minutes. The four-nozzle RD-0110 engine of the upper stage continues to burn to put the spacecraft into orbit.

T+plus 6 minutes. Soyuz's upper stage is firing to propel the spacecraft into a stable orbital perch around Earth on the six-hour, four-orbit trek to catch the International Space Station.

T+plus 5 minutes. The core stage of the Soyuz rocket has shut down and separated at an altitude of approximately 105 miles, leaving the upper stage to complete the job of injecting the Soyuz capsule into orbit.

T+plus 4 minutes. The core RD-108A engine continues to fire on its propellant mixture of kerosene fuel and supercold liquid oxygen.

T+plus 3 minutes. The safety escape tower and launch shroud have been jettisoned from the atop the Soyuz capsule.

T+plus 2 minutes, 10 seconds. The four strap-on boosters clustered around the Soyuz rocket's main stage have burned out and separated. The core engine continues to fire as Soyuz streaks into space at more than 3,300 mph.

T+plus 60 seconds. Good performance one minute into this ascent for the Soyuz rocket and its three-person crew from the Kazakh launch base.

JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui is strapped into the left-hand seat serving as co-pilot, veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko is in the center seat for his role as the Soyuz commander and NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren is riding in the right-hand seat.

T+plus 30 seconds. Kononenko, Yui and Lindgren are beginning a five-month expedition on the International Space Station.

The Soyuz rocket has maneuvered on course for a rendezvous with the space station six hours from now. The station currently is flying 260 miles over southern Russia.

LIFTOFF! Liftoff of the Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft with Oleg Kononenko, Kimiya Yui and Kjell Lindgren on a five-month mission to the International Space Station.

T-minus 40 seconds. The first umbilical arm has separated from Soyuz. The second will retract in the next few seconds.

T-minus 1 minute and counting. The Soyuz has been placed on internal power.

T-minus 2 minutes and counting. Rocket propellant tank pressurization is underway. The vehicle's onboard measurement system is activated. Oxidizer and fuel drain and safety valves of the launch vehicle have been closed.

T-minus 4 minutes and counting. The nitrogen purge of the combustion chambers of side and central engine pods of the rocket is being performed in preparation for ignition.

T-minus 5 minutes and counting. Soyuz has switched to onboard control, the ground measurement system and the capsule commander's controls are being activated.

T-minus 6 minutes. The automatic program for final launch operations is being initiated. And the launch key has been inserted in the bunker for liftoff.

Launch is set for 5:02:45 p.m. EDT (2102:45 GMT), the moment Earth's rotation carries the Baikonur Cosmodrome under the International Space Station's ground track.

T-minus 9 minutes and counting. The crew has closed its helmet visors.

T-minus 10 minutes. The crew inside the Soyuz capsule are starting recorders to collect data during launch.

T-minus 14 minutes. The Soyuz telemetry systems are being activated. They will relay real-time data back to Earth during today's launch.

T-minus 17 minutes. Now in the launch count, realignment of the Soyuz rocket's trajectory control system and checks of internal batteries should be complete. The Soyuz telemetry system will soon be activated and monitoring of Soyuz's thermal control system also will begin.

T-minus 20 minutes and counting. The three-stage Soyuz rocket will insert the 15,700-pound space capsule into a 143 by 118 mile orbit, inclined 51.6 degrees to the equator, according to NASA.

T-minus 22 minutes and counting. At the time of launch, the International Space Station will be flying 260 miles over northeast Kazakhstan. When the Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft deploys from the Soyuz rocket's third stage, the space station will be flying about 2,200 miles ahead of the Soyuz.

The space station will fly almost directly overhead the Baikonur Cosmodrome about four minutes before launch.

The capsule will close that distance over the next six hours, with docking to the space station's Rassvet module scheduled for 10:46 p.m. EDT (0246 GMT).

T-minus 24 minutes. The crew is completing leak checks of the Sokol launch spacesuits at this point in the countdown.

T-minus 25 minutes and counting. The Soyuz rocket will fly northeast from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, jettisoning its launch escape tower 1 minutes, 54 seconds, after liftoff. Four seconds later, the rocket's four liquid-fueled strap-on boosters will separate as the core RD-108A engine, also known as the Block A second stage, continues firing.

The Soyuz launch shroud will release at T+plus 2 minutes, 37 seconds, followed by ignition of the third stage RD-0110 engine and separation of the Soyuz second stage at T+plus 4 minutes, 45 seconds.

The third stage's RD-0110 engine will fire for four minutes to inject the Soyuz spacecraft into orbit. Shutdown is set for T+plus 8 minutes, 45 seconds, followed by separation of the capsule in orbit three seconds later.

A series of communications and navigation antennas will deploy moments later as the Soyuz begins its six-hour chase of the International Space Station.

Docking is set for 10:46 p.m. EDT (0246 GMT).

T-minus 34 minutes and counting. The emergency escape system is being armed. The system would be employed if a major malfunction occurs, propelling the Soyuz capsule off the top of the rocket to safety.

T-minus 40 minutes and counting. The two-piece service structure which enclosed the Soyuz rocket is being retracted to a horizontal position. The towers protected the rocket and provided workers and the Soyuz crew with access to the spacecraft since the rocket arrived at the launch pad at sunrise Sunday.

Several other umbilical arms connecting the rocket to the ground will be retracted at various times later in the countdown.

T-minus 50 minutes and counting. Soyuz TMA-17M commander Oleg Kononenko, Japanese flight engineer Kimiya Yui and NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren were awakened about eight hours ago to begin launch day activities.

They signed the doors at the Cosmonaut Hotel and received religious blessings before boarding a bus that took the three crewmates the 25-mile distance into the cosmodrome. They donned their white Sokol launch and entry suits, met with officials from their respective space agencies and then headed for the pad. Crowds of well-wishers gathered to wave goodbye as the crew reached the rocket. An elevator took the trio up to the capsule-level of the tower to begin climbing aboard the cramped spacecraft.

T-minus 62 minutes. Live streaming video coverage of today's rocket flight to orbit begins now.

T-minus 90 minutes. The Soyuz rocket is fueled, the crew has traveled to the launch pad and the countdown is progressing toward liftoff of the space station's Expedition 44/45 crew from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 5:02:45 p.m. EDT (2102:45 GMT).

The hatch to the Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft is due to be closed in about 10 minutes, followed by the start of leak checks to ensure the capsule has a tight pressure seal.

Live launch coverage and commentary begins on this page at 4 p.m. EDT.

The three-person crew has arrived at Launch Pad No. 1 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where they will take an elevator ride to the top of the Soyuz rocket to board the Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft for liftoff at 2102:45 GMT (2102:45 p.m. EDT).

The crew is led by Oleg Kononenko, a 51-year-old Russian mechanical engineer selected as a cosmonaut candidate in 1996. Kononenko has logged 391 days in space on two previous missions aboard the International Space Station in 2008 and 2012.

Kononenko will occupy the capsule's center seat, with Japanese flight engineer Kimiya Yui and NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren flanking him in the left and right couches.

Kimiya Yui will be the primary flight engineer, assisting Padalka with control duties during the launch and docking, which is set for 0246 GMT (10:46 p.m. EDT), less than six hours after liftoff.

Making his first spaceflight, the 45-year-old Yui graduated from the National Defense Academy of Japan in March 1992 and joined the Japan Air Self Defense Force, becoming a fighter pilot and test pilot before his selection as a JAXA astronaut candidate in 2009. Yui served on an underwater expedition with NASA in 2012 to test future space mission techniques and operations concepts before his assignment to a space station crew.

NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, 42, is also making his first flight into space.

Born in Taipei and growing up in the United States and England, Lindgren is a medical doctor and holds degrees from the U.S. Air Force Academy and Colorado State University. He earned his medical degree from the University of Colorado in 2002.

Lindgren was a NASA flight surgeon at the Johnson Space Center in Houston when he was selected as an astronaut candidate in 2009.

A three-stage Soyuz booster rocket, capped by a three-person crew transport capsule, rolled out to a launch pad in Kazakhstan on Monday, two days before blasting off with new residents headed for the International Space Station.

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