US-Russian Crew Launches to ISS Aboard Soyuz MS-28 for Eight-Month Mission

A US-Russian crew of three began a mission to the International Space Station aboard a Russian spacecraft. A Soyuz booster rocket lifted off today from Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan to put the Soyuz MS-28 into orbit. The spacecraft carried NASA astronaut Chris Williams and two Russian crew mates Sergei Mikaev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov. All three are expected to spend about eight months at the orbiting outpost. NASA said this is the first spaceflight for Williams and Mikaev. This is the second flight for Kud-Sverchkov.