Live coverage: International crew lands in Kazakhstan

A veteran Russian cosmonaut, a rookie French flight engineer and a record-setting NASA astronaut making her third trip to the International Space Station are gearing up for launch Thursday aboard an upgraded Soyuz ferry craft, kicking off a two-day flight to the orbital laboratory.

A modified version of Russia’s Soyuz rocket launched Friday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, a spaceport on the edge of the Russian Arctic, with a military satellite whose mission is shrouded in mystery.

A Japanese HTV cargo freighter is set for launch Tuesday (U.S. time) aboard a powerful H-2B rocket, ferrying six new lithium-ion batteries, a Sony-developed laser communications terminal, fresh water and other equipment to the International Space Station.