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A Russian Soyuz rocket with 3 astronauts blasts off to the International Space Station

The launch had been planned for Thursday but was halted by an automatic safety system about 20 seconds before the scheduled liftoff
Canadian Press
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Expedition 71 NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, from left, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and Belarus spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya wave as they depart the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Saturday, March 23, 2024, to suit up for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station. Russia’s Roscosmos space agency has aborted the launch of three astronauts to the International Space Station about 20 seconds before they were scheduled to lift off. Russia's Roscosmos space corporation said the next launch attempt is set for Saturday. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying three astronauts to the International Space Station blasted off Saturday, two days after its launch was aborted at the last minute.

The spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, Russian Oleg Novitsky and Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus launched with no apparent problems from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan.

The launch had been planned for Thursday but was halted by an automatic safety system about 20 seconds before the scheduled liftoff. The head of the Russian space agency, Yuri Borisov, said the launch abort was triggered by a voltage drop in a power source.

The Associated Press