A multinational crew bound for the International Space Station has blasted off from Russia's launch facility in the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Wednesday's launch of the Soyuz spacecraft went smoothly — free of the technical problems that have plagued the Russian space program in recent months. Officials say the spacecraft went into orbit as planned about 10 minutes after lift-off.

The three-man crew, including a Russian, a Dutchman and an American , is scheduled to dock with the space station on Friday.

They will join an American and two Russians , who have been at the space station since mid-November. The six are to work together on the station until March.

Russia is currently the only nation transporting crew to and from the space station since the United States retired its space shuttle program in July.

The Russian space program has experienced several mishaps in recent months. An August 24 unmanned launch attempt experienced a catastrophic failure.

Last month, Russia lost the Phobus-Grunt Mars probe, which failed to leave Earth's orbit after its launch. The craft is expected to fall back to Earth in January.