Soyuz Rocket Poised For Launch To International Space Station

Three space travelers destined for the International Space Station are onboard a Soyuz spacecraft at Baikonur Cosmodrome as the Russian Federal Space Agency gears up for the launch of the 24th expedition to the outpost.

Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin is in the center seat of the Soyuz capsule, flanked by U.S. astronauts Douglas Wheelock and Shannon Walker. Liftoff from the leased spaceport in Kazakhstan remains scheduled for 5:35 p.m. EDT.

The launch will be the 100th carried out during the assembly and maintenance of the station, which is considered the most complex spacecraft ever to operate in orbit.

Standing 162 feet tall and weighing in at 680,000 pounds, the Soyuz is launching from the same pad where Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin blasted off on the world's first human spaceflight in April 1961.

You can watch the launch live here in The Flame Trench. Simply click the NASA TV box on the right side of the page to launch our NASA TV viewer and live coverage. Refresh this page, too, for periodic updates.