'Lifeboat' mission to space station

A final wave before the crew begin their 10-day mission

A Russian-French crew has blasted off from a launch pad at Baikonur in Kazakhstan towards the orbiting International Space Station (ISS) for a 10-day mission.

Russian cosmonauts Viktor Afanasyev and Konstantin Kozeyev, together with French astronaut Claudie Haignere, took off aboard a Russian Soyuz-TM33 spacecraft at 0859 GMT, a mission control spokesman said.

Haignere, who in 1996 became the first Frenchwoman in space, will be the first French crew member to board the ISS.

Desire to fly

A 44-year-old rheumatologist and expert in neuroscience, she will be responsible for mooring the Soyuz vessel.

She said: "I am taking with me books and photos which I will present to my friends after the mission and a photo of my daughter."

Kozeyev, 34, said he was nervous ahead of his first flight. "All the same, I want to fly so much," he added.

The crew's main task is to resupply the station with a new Soyuz rocket which serves as lifeboat for the space station and is replaced every six months.

They are due to dock with the ISS, which is currently manned by a US-Russian team, on Tuesday.

After conducting a variety of experiments on board, the three are scheduled to return to Earth on 31 October on board the old Soyuz.