Posted: Wed, Dec 15, 2010, 9:16 PM ET (0216 GMT)
A Soyuz rocket lifted off Wednesday carrying a new three-person crew to the International Space Station. The Soyuz lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 2:09 pm EST Wednesday (1909 GMT Wednesday, 1:09 am local time Thursday) and placed the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft into orbit. On board the Soyuz are Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev, American astronaut Cady Coleman, and Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli, who will join Scott Kelly, Alexander Kaleri, and Oleg Skripochka currently on the station. The Soyuz is scheduled to dock with the station at 3:12 pm EST (2012 GMT) Friday.

Related Links:

•  CBS News article
•  AP article
•  SPACE.com article
•  BBC article
•  NASA press release