Soyuz rocket launches to ISS with NASA

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER : 

Despite rising tensions between Russia and the U.S., a Russian Soyuz rocket headed for the International Space Station Wednesday afternoon with a NASA astronaut onboard.

A Russian spacecraft carrying a three-man crew docked successfully at the International Space Station on late Wednesday evening following the flawless launch.

The Soyuz craft, carrying NASA's Reid Wiseman, Russian cosmonaut Max Surayev and German Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency arrived at the station at 5:44 a.m. (0144 GMT). They lifted off just less than six hours earlier from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Mission Control in Moscow congratulated the trio on a successful docking.

They are joining two Russians and an American who have been at the station since March.

The Russian and U.S. space agencies have continued to cooperate despite friction between the two countries over Ukraine. NASA depends on the Russian spacecraft to ferry crews to the space station and pays Russia nearly $71 million per seat.

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.

Expedition 40 crew members Reid Wiseman, a NASA astronaut, along with a Russian cosmonaut and a German flight engineer will begin a five and a half month mission at the ISS.

Currently, the only way to get Americans to space is to pay the Russians $71 million for a seat on the Soyuz.

However, U.S. sanctions against Russia have lead one Russia's deputy prime minister to say if Americans want to get to the ISS, they should consider a trampoline.

But all that talk has not disrupted this mission to space.

“Even at this time when where it’s a little shaky politically and other areas, there’s still a tremendous spirit of how we can accomplish this,” said NASA Associate Administrator for Spaceflight Operations William Gerstenmaier. “They see the greater purpose of what we’re doing for space and we can be a model for others of how real teams can work together despite challenging times.”

Russia has threatened to end operations at the ISS after the year 2020.

The dispute with Russia is prompting Congress to take a closer look at America's progress in sending humans to space from Florida.

One of the commercial companies prepared to send NASA astronauts to the ISS is SpaceX.

The company announced Wednesday morning they have completed qualification testing for the SuperDraco thruster.

The thrusters will be used to land a crewed Dragon capsule on Earth or another planet with pinpoint accuracy, instead of parachuting down into the ocean.

SpaceX will unveil a manned version of the Dragon capsule to the public Thursday.

NASA hopes to send astronauts to the ISS by 2017.