A Russian Soyuz spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1:21 PM, local time, on Sunday.

It is carrying 3 crew members for the International Space Station.

The spacecraft separated from its 3rd-stage rocket 9 minutes after the launch and entered orbit at an altitude of 200 kilometers.

Soyuz will reach the space station about 400 kilometers above the Earth in about 2 days.

The crew includes Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai, a former Maritime Self-Defense Force medical officer.

Kanai is Japan's 12th astronaut. During his stay at the space outpost, Kanai will conduct experiments on protein in a bid to shed more light on Alzheimer's disease.

He will also examine the effects of the space environment on the human body.