A new expedition crew and a space tourist are onboard a Soyuz rocket at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at this hour as the Russian Federal Space Agency prepares for launch of a two-day journey to the International Space Station.Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, American astronaut Michael Barratt and spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi are scheduled to blast off at 7:49 a.m. from the same launch pad where Yuri Gagarin launched 48 years ago.
You can watch the launch live here in The Flame Trench. Simply click the NASA TV box at the righthand side of the page to launch our NASA TV viewer and live coverage. Refresh this page, too, for periodic updates.
Click to enlarge this look at the rocket:
Discovery's astronauts cleared the way for the launch with their departure Wednesday from the station.
Assuming an on-time launch, Padalka, Barratt and Simonyi are scheduled to arrive at the station at 9:15 a.m. Saturday.
The shuttle and its crew are due back at Kennedy Space Center at 1:42 p.m. that same day.
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