A Soyuz rocket carrying three crew members to the International Space Station (ISS) has blasted off from Baikonur in Kazakhstan.
The crew - composed of Alexander Gerst of Germany, Serena Aunon-Chancellor of the United States and Sergei Prokopyev of Russia - are headed on a six-month "Horizons" mission to the ISS to conduct research 400km above the Earth's surface.
"Last message before the launch, just getting into the rocket. Next stop #ISS in two days if everything goes smoothly. Take care of yourselves, my friends," Gerst tweeted ahead of Wednesday's takeoff.
Before leaving the cosmonaut hotel for the launch, the crew signed their hotel room doors, one of the many traditions ahead of a space mission.
Gerst, 42, affectionately known as Astro Alex, tweeted from the bus to the cosmodrome: "Mood in the crew is super. Notice uninterested camels on the edge of the road."
