The three-man crew arrives at the launch pad to board Soyuz. Photo: Energia

Liftoff from Yuri Gagarin's launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodome in Kazakstan occurred on time at 2:27 a.m. EDT. Video from inside the spacecraft during ascent showed Shuttleworth and his crewmates smiling and waving at the cockpit camera as they rocketed away. Eight-and-a-half minutes after launch, the Soyuz spacecraft slipped into orbit and a few moments later, its main antennas and solar arrays deployed as planned. There were no problems of any significance.

If all goes well, Gidzenko will guide the Soyuz spacecraft to a docking at an Earth-facing port on the space station's Zarya module around 4 a.m. Saturday. A detailed mission overview is available here.