A Russian Soyuz booster climbed into orbit Monday with a U.S. Army colonel, a veteran Russian cosmonaut and a Canadian flight engineer, kicking off a six-hour chase of the International Space Station.

On top of an Atlas rocket, the place where orbital spaceflight for American astronauts began, will sit Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to launch humans into space starting next year.

Two NASA astronauts, a Japanese flier and a Russian cosmonaut plunged back to Earth Saturday, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego to wrap up a five-month mission.