Brazil's first astronaut blasted off with the Russian-U.S. crew bound for the International Space Station.
Marcos Pontes, a 43-year-old Brazilian Air Force pilot, will return to earth in 10 days with the outgoing crew, American Bill McArthur and Russian Valery Tokarev.
Pontes graduated as a military pilot from the Brazil Air Force Academy. He is trained as an instructor, a flight safety officer and test pilot. He has logged over 1,900 flight hours in more than 20 different aircraft, including the F-15, F-16, F18 and MIG-29. He attended the Naval Postgraduate School, and was selected for the astronaut program after his graduation.
Pontes has been training for his space flight since 1998.
The Soyuz spacecraft is due to dock at the station early Saturday.
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