Kate Rubins

A veteran Russian cosmonaut and two spaceflight rookies rocketed into orbit from a Kazakh launch base Wednesday on the first flight of a new-generation Soyuz capsule, kicking off a two-day pursuit of the International Space Station.

An upgraded Soyuz spacecraft, featuring improved navigation, communications and rendezvous systems, blasted into orbit from Kazakhstan Wednesday and set off on a two-day maiden flight to deliver three fresh crew members to the International Space Station.

Track the progress of the Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft and its three-person crew through Wednesday’s countdown and launch, followed two days later by docking with the International Space Station on Friday.

A Soyuz rocket is standing on the launch pad in Kazakhstan used on Yuri Gagarin’s historic first human spaceflight in 1961, ready to send three people toward the International Space Station.

A veteran cosmonaut, a former Japanese 767 airline pilot and a NASA astronaut with a Ph.D. in cancer biology are making final preparations for launch July 6 on a two-day flight to the International Space Station. It will be the first flight in an upgraded Soyuz ferry craft with improved, more redundant navigation, communications and computer equipment.