PHOTOS: Soyuz lifts off from Kazakhstan

Carrying three new residents bound for the International Space Station, a Russian Soyuz rocket lifted off Tuesday from the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Russian commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, Italian pilot Luca Parmitano and NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg reached the complex less than six hours after liftoff, beginning a mission of five-and-a-month months.

See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.