New crew members on way to space station

MOSCOW, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- A Russian Soyuz capsule with a crew of three is headed for the International Space Station following a launch from Kazakhstan Wednesday, Russian officials say.

Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said the TMA-07M spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and U.S. astronaut Tomas Marshburn was launched from the Baikonur space center at 7:12 EST.

The spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the ISS Friday.

"The crew will reach the ISS in a traditional 'long' trip, which will take two days, though a short trip is also possible," a Roscosmos spokesperson told China's Xinhua news agency.

Romanenko will assume duties as commander of the new mission on the ISS which will last four months, Roscosmos said.