International crew blast off for space station

The quartet - Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada, Koichi Wakata, and Anna Kikina - departed Florida's Kennedy Space Centre at exactly midday, local time.

Their SpaceX Falcon rocket has put them on a path to catch the orbiting outpost in about 29 hours' time. Nicole Mann is making a piece of history by becoming the first Native American to go to space.

Cosmonaut Kikina's participation continues the ride share agreement between Russia and the US.

The two countries have promised to keep carrying each other's spacefarers to orbit even though they are at odds over matters in Ukraine.