A Russian rocket lifted off from the Baikonur launch pad in the steppes of western Kazakhstan to deliver the next crew to the International Space Station. Russian commander Gennady Padalka and American flight engineer Michael Fincke will maintain the space station. Andre Kuipers of the Netherlands will conduct a nine-day mission of experiments for the European Space Agency. The launch occurred on Monday, April 19 and docked the next day at the space station. The mission should be completed by early May.

This is the third manned mission to the space station since the U.S. shuttle program was temporarily stopped after the February 1, 2003 Columbia accident. Assembly of the space station has been delayed too.