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Multi-national crew blasts off for space station

  • The Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft carrying the International Space Station crew of Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, Terry Virts of the U.S. and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy blasts off from the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 24, 2014. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
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    The Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft carrying the International Space Station crew blasts off from the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome

    The Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft carrying the International Space Station crew of Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, Terry Virts of the U.S. and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy blasts off from the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 24, 2014. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
    Reuters
  • International Space Station (ISS) crew Terry Virts (L-R) of the U.S., Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, walk during a sending-off ceremony before the launch of the Soyuz TMA-15 M spacecraft at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool
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    ISS crew Virts, Shkaplerov, and Cristoforetti walk during a sending-off ceremony before the launch of the Soyuz TMA-15 M spacecraft at the Baikonur cosmodrome

    International Space Station (ISS) crew Terry Virts (L-R) of the U.S., Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, walk during a sending-off ceremony before the launch of the Soyuz TMA-15 M spacecraft at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool
    Reuters
  • International Space Station (ISS) crew, Terry Virts (L) of the U.S., Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, speak with friends and relatives during pre-launch preparations at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool
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    ISS crew Virts, Shkaplerov and Cristoforetti speak with friends and relatives during pre-launch preparations at the Baikonur cosmodrome

    International Space Station (ISS) crew, Terry Virts (L) of the U.S., Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, speak with friends and relatives during pre-launch preparations at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool
    Reuters
  • International Space Station (ISS) crew Anton Shkaplerov of Russia matches palm with his daughter Kira from a bus window before the launch of the Soyuz-FG rocket at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Dmitry Lovetsky/Pool
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    ISS crew Shkaplerov matches palm with his daughter Kira from a bus window before the launch of the Soyuz-FG rocket at the Baikonur cosmodrome

    International Space Station (ISS) crew Anton Shkaplerov of Russia matches palm with his daughter Kira from a bus window before the launch of the Soyuz-FG rocket at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Dmitry Lovetsky/Pool
    Reuters
  • International Space Station (ISS) crew Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy attends a sending-off ceremony before the launch of the Soyuz TMA-15 M spacecraft at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool
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    ISS crew Cristoforetti attends a sending-off ceremony before the launch of the Soyuz TMA-15 M spacecraft at the Baikonur cosmodrome

    International Space Station (ISS) crew Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy attends a sending-off ceremony before the launch of the Soyuz TMA-15 M spacecraft at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool
    Reuters
  • International Space Station (ISS) crew Terry Virts of the U.S. gestures during a space suit test at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool
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    ISS crew Virts gestures during a space suit test at the Baikonur cosmodrome

    International Space Station (ISS) crew Terry Virts of the U.S. gestures during a space suit test at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool
    Reuters
  • International Space Station (ISS) crew Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy tests her space suit during pre-launch preparations at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool
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    ISS crew Cristoforetti tests her space suit during pre-launch preparations at the Baikonur cosmodrome

    International Space Station (ISS) crew Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy tests her space suit during pre-launch preparations at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool
    Reuters
  • The Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft rests on its launch pad shortly before the blast off with International Space Station (ISS) crew, Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, Terry Virts of the U.S. and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
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    The Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft rests on its launch pad shortly before the blast off with ISS crew at the Baikonur cosmodrome

    The Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft rests on its launch pad shortly before the blast off with International Space Station (ISS) crew, Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, Terry Virts of the U.S. and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
    Reuters
The Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft carrying the International Space Station crew of Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, Terry Virts of the U.S. and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy blasts off from the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 24, 2014. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
International Space Station (ISS) crew Terry Virts (L-R) of the U.S., Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, walk during a sending-off ceremony before the launch of the Soyuz TMA-15 M spacecraft at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool
International Space Station (ISS) crew, Terry Virts (L) of the U.S., Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, speak with friends and relatives during pre-launch preparations at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool
International Space Station (ISS) crew Anton Shkaplerov of Russia matches palm with his daughter Kira from a bus window before the launch of the Soyuz-FG rocket at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Dmitry Lovetsky/Pool
International Space Station (ISS) crew Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy attends a sending-off ceremony before the launch of the Soyuz TMA-15 M spacecraft at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool
International Space Station (ISS) crew Terry Virts of the U.S. gestures during a space suit test at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool
International Space Station (ISS) crew Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy tests her space suit during pre-launch preparations at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool
The Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft rests on its launch pad shortly before the blast off with International Space Station (ISS) crew, Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, Terry Virts of the U.S. and Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy, at the Baikonur cosmodrome November 23, 2014. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
By Irene Klotz

By Irene Klotz A Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan on Sunday to deliver three new crew members to the International Space Station, including Italy’s first female astronaut. A Soyuz capsule holding incoming station commander Terry Virts, with the U.S. space agency NASA, Soyuz commander Anton Shkaplerov, with the Russian Federal Space Agency, and first-time flier Samantha Cristoforetti, with the European Space Agency, lifted off at 4:01 p.m. EST (2101 GMT). They were slated to reach the station, which flies about 260 miles (418 km) above Earth, less than six hours later. The station, owned an operated by a partnership of 15 nations, serves an orbiting laboratory for life science, materials research, technology development and other experiments that take advantage of the unique microgravity environment and vantage point of space. “I think that 100 years from now, 500 years from now, people will look back on this as the initial baby steps that we took going into the solar system. In the same way that we look back on Columbus and the other explorers 500 years ago, this is the way people will look at this time in history,” Virts said. The $100 billion research laboratory has been short-staffed since Nov. 9 when Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev, European astronaut Alexander Gerst and NASA’s Reid Wiseman returned home after 5.5 months in orbit. The crew faces a busy six-months in orbit, including a trio of spacewalks to prepare the station for a new fleet of U.S. commercial space taxis that are due to begin flying crew to the station in late 2017. Cristoforetti, 37, an Italian Air Force pilot, deflected questions about becoming Italy’s first female astronaut during a webcast prelaunch press conference from Kazakhstan on Saturday. “I have done nothing special to be the first Italian woman to fly to space. I just wanted to fly to space and I happen to be the first,” Cristoforetti, who was speaking in Russian, said through a translator. When asked by a reporter if she planned wear cosmetics in space, Cristoforetti looked confused, then replied, “Maybe you should ask Terry. Maybe he wants to take some makeup with him.” (Reporting by Irene Klotz in Cape Canaveral, Fla.; Editing by Marguerita Choy)