Baikonur (Kazakhstan): A Russian rocket trailing a tail of fire took manned space exploration beyond the Columbia disaster on April 26, as it delivered a Russian-American duo to orbit on their way to the international space station.

The Soyuz TMA-2, carrying American astronaut Edward Lu and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, blasted off from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome, deep in the Kazakh steppe, at 7:54 am Moscow time (10.24 am IST) with a thunderous roar, its fiery tail breaking up the blue, cloud-scattered sky. It sailed into orbit nine minutes later.

The launch of the 40-meter Soyuz, on April 26, the latest version of the world's longest-serving manned spacecraft, was heavy with symbolism as the first flight since the Columbia shuttle disintegrated over Texas on February 1, killing all seven astronauts on board.

"It's a kind of mix of joy, relief and sheer pride," said Lu's fiancee, Christine Romero, following the launch. "After the tragedy we've endured, we just feel so proud to be part of this. We are riding on their coattails."

According to Russian tradition, it is bad luck for family members to attend the launch and none of Malenchenko's relatives were present.

The Columbia disaster grounded the US shuttle programme and raised questions about what would happen to the space station, which is heavily reliant on the US vehicles.

Agencies