The Russian Soyuz rocket is en route to the International Space Station, carrying three astronauts who will fill the station to living capacity.

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers and NASA astronaut Don Pettit made up the Expedition 30 three-person crew.

The rocket took off at 8:16 a.m. EST from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, according to NASA.

The crew members are scheduled to arrive at the ISS at 10:22 a.m. on Friday.

NASA tweeted the weather conditions earlier in the day: Weather for the Soyuz launch in Baikonur, Kazakhstan is 4 degrees Fahrenheit with 7 mile per hour winds - wind chill of minus 8 F.

Kononenko, Kuipers and Pettit will meet Expedition 30 commander Dan Burbank and flight engineers Anatoly Ivanishin and Anton Shkaplerov, according to NASA.

An Orthodox priest blessed the spacecraft before launch, The Globe and Mail reported.

Here are photos of the Soyuz launch.

Soyuz launch
Andre Kuipers, Donald Pettit and Oleg Kononenko prepare for takeoff. Reuters
Soyuz launch
The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft blasts off. Reuters
Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft
The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft caused an interesting light effect. Reuters
Soyuz capsule
Inside the Soyuz capsule. Reuters
Soyuz rocket
Soyuz rocket launches. Reuters
Soyuz rocket
The Soyuz rocket blasts off. Reuters
Orthodox priest
An Orthodox priest conducted a religious service the day before launch. Reuters
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