Astronauts bring Christmas gifts into the universe

Russian missiles pushed the Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft soaring out of the launch pad at the aviation center in Kazakhstan, bringing three travelers and Christmas gifts into space.

Soyuz spacecraft TMA-17 left the launch pad.Photo: Reuters .

The family of three American, Russian and Japanese astronauts stood in the cold this morning to bid farewell to relatives. The Soyuz train then soared above the orange flame and rushed into the air.

NASA spokesman Rob Navias commented that this is "a spectacular launch, a wonderful Christmas gift ". NASA TV shows the crew holding their finger on the successful symbol when the ship enters space.

According to the AP, Soyuz will fly for two days before connecting to the ISS space station about 350 km from the earth. One of the main tasks of astronauts on this trip was to transfer a complete module to the space station.

Astronauts on ISS actually filmed a Christmas greeting clip to send to Earth.