Russian rocket lifts off carrying first Malaysian to space

A Russian rocket carrying three astronauts a Russian, an American and a Malaysian lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday morning.

The Soyuz rocket launched successfully at 9:22 a.m. ET. It should arrive at the International Space Station on Friday and dock to the Earth-facing port of the station's Zarya module.

The crew includes spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, who will be the first Malaysian in space.

"It's a small step for me, but a great leap for the Malaysian people," said the 35-year-old physician before the flight.

The agreement to bring a Malaysian to space was negotiated in 2003 as part of a $900-million US deal in which Malaysia agreed to purchase 18 Russian fighter jets.

Shukor will return to Earth with the space station's current commander and crew on Oct. 21.

American Whitson will become the first woman to act as commander of the International Space Station when she and Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko relieve current crew members Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov.

American Clayton Anderson will remain on board the orbiting space station as the third member of the crew until the arrival later this month of the U.S. space shuttle Discovery, which is scheduled to launch on Oct. 23.