(14 Oct 2004) SHOTLIST
1. Rocket on launch pad with tower lowering
2. Cosmonauts walking up to rocket
3. Cosmonauts boarding
4. Wide of rocket on pad
5. Launch sequence
STORYLINE
A Russian rocket carrying a new Russian-US crew to the international space station lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday.
For Russians Salizhan Sharipov and Yuri Shargin and American Leroy Chiao, it was the first mission in a Soyuz spacecraft, breaking the nearly 30-year tradition of having at least one crewman with previous experience in piloting the capsule.
Chiao and Sharipov have both flown US space shuttles, while Shargin is on his first space mission.
The Soyuz TMA-5 lifted off from the steppes of Kazakhstan at 0706 Moscow time (0306 GMT) and was due to dock with the station two days later.
Since the mid-1970s, Soviet and Russian space crews always have included a cosmonaut with previous pilot experience to ensure a smooth ride.
The tradition now has been broken because several veteran cosmonauts have resigned in recent years and the space agency hasn't had enough seats on recent Soyuz missions to train their replacements, a spokesman for Russia's Cosmonaut Training Centre said.
During the six-month mission, the crew is set to conduct experiments to research new AIDS vaccines, study plant growth and conduct at least two space walks.
After arriving at the station, their task will be to fix a broken generator.
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