Russian, America, Japanese blast off from Kazakhstan for International Space Station

The Soyuz-FG booster rocket with the space capsule Soyuz TMA-14M launched to the International Space Station from the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, in Kazakhstan, early Thursday, July 23, 2015. The Russian rocket carries Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, U.S. astronaut Kjell Lindgen and Japan astronaut Kimiya Yui. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin) (The Associated Press)

A firefighter battles a multiple alarm fire at a large warehouse in North Brunswick, N.J., Wednesday July 22, 2015. The warehouse fire in central New Jersey that was fueled by plastics, autos and household goods sent plumes of black smoke into the air Wednesday that were visible from space. (Mark R. Sullivan/Home News Tribune via AP) (The Associated Press)

Japan astronaut Kimiya Yui, top, U.S. astronaut Kjell Lindgen, center, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, crew members of the next mission to the International Space Station, wave before boarding their Soyuz TMA-17M rocket, at the Russian leased Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, early Thursday, July 23, 2015. (AP Photo/Yuri Kochetkov, Pool) (The Associated Press)

A Souyz space capsule has blasted off from the Russian manned launch facility in Kazakhstan, carrying a Russian, an American and a Japanese to the International Space Station.

The rocket lifted off at 3:02 a.m Wednesday (2102 GMT Tuesday) and is to dock with the orbiting laboratory about six hours later.

The capsule is carrying Oleg Kononenko of Russia, NASA's Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui of Japan. They will join Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly. The latter two are more than four months into a nearly year-long mission on the space station.

Wednesday's launch was postponed by about two months after the April failure of an unmanned Russian cargo ship, which raised concerns about Russian rocketry. Another Russian cargo ship was successfully launched in early July.