MOSCOW - A Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft carrying three astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) blasted off from Russia's launch facility in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, the Federal Space Agency Roscosmos reported.

The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft carrying three astronauts launches to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in this still image take from NASA TV Dec 21, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

Roscosmos' live webcast of the launch showed the Soyuz TMA-03M rocket taking off at 17:16 Moscow time (1316 GMT) from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft - with a Russian, an American and a Dutchman aboard - was scheduled to dock with the ISS on Friday.

According to the agency, the enlarged crew of the ISS would conduct some 71 scientific experiments and a space walk on February 14.