A Russian-American-Dutch crew blasted into orbit Monday aboard a Russian spacecraft en route to the international space station. This is the third manned mission since the US shuttle program was halted after the Columbia disaster. Padalka, 45, and Fincke, who were initially trained to fly on a U.S. shuttle, will spend 183 days on the space station, where they are to conduct two spacewalks. Kuipers, a 45-year-old medical doctor, will return after nine days with the station's current crew, US astronaut Michael Foale and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, who have been in orbit since October.

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