Multinational ISS crew blasts off

A new crew was on its way to the International Space Station Sunday after the launch of a Soyuz spacecraft, Russian space officials said. The three-person crew included American astronaut Sunita Williams, cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko and Akhito Hoshide of Japan. Malenchenko is a veteran of five space missions and his crew mates have both served aboard the ISS before, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency said. The trio will double the current population of the ISS and will carry out a schedule of more than 30 scientific tasks. Two cosmonauts and U.S. astronaut Joe Acaba have been in orbit in the station since May.