The three were launched in a Russian rocket from the Russian-controlled Baikonur space base in Kazakhstan.
According to the plans, the American Loral O’Hara will stay on the ISS for six months, while her Russian colleagues Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Tjub will spend a year in space. They are expected to arrive during the night of Saturday.
According to Nasa, after his year on the ISS, Kononenko will thus become the person who has spent the longest time in space, over 1,000 days.
At the end of August, four astronauts from four countries – the United States, Denmark, Japan and Russia – arrived at the ISS. That quartet is supposed to spend six months on the space station.
Astronauts Loral O’Hara, Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Tjub before departure.
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