A Russian Soyuz spacecraft was launched Thursday morning with three astronauts from Japan, Russia and the United States on board. 
The Soyuz will spend about two days traveling to the International Space Station, where the crew -- Takuya Onishi, 40, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Anatoli Ivanishin, 47, of Russia's Roscosmos agency and Kate Rubins, 37, of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- will stay for around four months to conduct experiments. 
It is the first trip into space for Onishi, whose missions will include releasing a small satellite from Japan's Kibo laboratory unit, JAXA said.

Source: QNA