Fast track to space: Soyuz craft successfully docks at International Space Station only six hours after flawless launch

Soyuz craft enjoys flawless launch from Baik onur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Crew dock successfully at International Space Station just six hours later

Team of three included Reid Wiseman, Max Surayev and Alexander Gerst

Russian and US space agencies co-operate despite tensions over Ukraine



In a cloud of smoke and with a deafening roar, a Russian spacecraft powers into the night sky on a fast-track mission to reach the International Space Station.

Carrying a three-man crew, the Soyuz craft had a flawless launch f rom the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan - before docking successfully just six hours later.



With NASA's Reid Wiseman, Russian cosmonaut Max Surayev and German Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency all on board the spacecraft blasted off last night.

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The Soyuz space ship, carrying a new crew to the International Space Station, blasts off at Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

In a cloud of smoke the rocket powers into the night sky after blasting off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan

European Space Agency's astronaut Alexander Gerst, left, Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev, center, and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, are all members of the mission to the International Space Station

Less than six hours after liftoff, Gerst and his crewmates reached the station, a $100 billion research laboratory as it flew about 260 miles above the Pacific Ocean west of Peru.



The Soyuz slipped into a berthing port on the station's Rassvet module at 1.44am today prompting congratulations from the Mission Control in Moscow for a successful voyage.



The trio are joining two Russians and an American who have been at the station, a project of 15 nations, since March.

In to orbit: Spectators watch as the Soyuz rocket disappears in to the sky on its way to a successful docking. The crew were congratulated by Mission Control in Moscow on arrival

The three-strong crew prepare for take off ahead of their successful mission to the International Space Station

German astronaut Alexander Gerst waves from the bus after putting on his space suit before boarding the Soyuz rocket just a few hours before their launch

Until last year, Russian spacecraft used to travel two days to reach the station, and this will be only the fifth time that a crew has taken the six-hour 'fast-track' route.

After the previous launch, in March, the crew ended up taking the longer route because of a software glitch.

Experts say the faster route is necessary as the cramped interior of the Soyuz can be stressful and uncomfortable for astronauts, many of whom will be suffering from space sickness at the time.

However, carrying out the mission in one-day requires extremely precise 'orbital adjustments' from the Space Station ahead of docking and the shortened trip has only been made possible after extensive studies carried out last year.

The Russian and US space agencies have continued to co-operate despite friction between the two countries over Ukraine.

An image taken using a fish-eye lens and with a long time exposure, shows the Soyuz-FG rocket's path as it blasts off at the Baikonur cosmodrome

An image taken from NASA-TV shows the Soyuz spacecraft approaching the International Space Station's docking port

NASA depends on the Russian spacecraft to ferry crews to the space station and pays Russia nearly $71million (£42 million) per seat.

At a prelaunch press conference on Tuesday, the new space station crew was asked if the escalating tensions were having any impact on their mission.

In response, Suraev, Reid and Gerst slapped their arms around each other and hugged.

Aboard the space station, currently staffed by NASA astronaut Steven Swanson and two Russian cosmonauts, it was business as usual, Swanson said during an inflight interview broadcast on NASA Television on Tuesday.

'We don't talk about it much, honestly,' Swanson said.



'It does not affect our working relationship. We get along very well. There are no issues at all up here.'









