Soyuz TMA-06M launches successfully with three aboard

At 1051 GMT on 23 October a Soyuz FG rocket successfully launched the Soyuz TMA-06M/ISS-32S spacecraft into orbit from the Baikonur launch site near Tyuratam, Kazakhstan.  The flight carried to the International Space Station carried mission commander Oleg Novitskiy, flight engineer Evgeny Tarelkin and NASA astronaut Kevin Ford on its way to the International Space Station. The flight also carried some live fish.

Sources report that the launch was slightly unusual in that it took place from a different pad from usual.  Instead of launching from the normal Site 1 pad the flight took place from Site 31 which was last used in 1984. Site 1 is being refurbished. Film footage courtesy: NASATV