Live coverage: Space station crew home after 115-day mission

A Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off and shot into orbit Wednesday, carrying a Russian cosmonaut and two NASA astronauts, all veteran space fliers, on a two-day flight to the International Space Station.

NASA has signed a $490 million agreement with the Russian government to ferry U.S. astronauts to and from the International Space Station in 2018 and 2019 as a hedge in case of delays to Boeing and SpaceX crew capsules.

The space plane was brought to the Kennedy Space Center in May 2024 with plans to launch later that year. Now, its first flight is no earlier than late 2026.