A U.S.-Russian crew of three has started a mission to the International Space Station aboard a Russian spacecraft following a succesful launch. A Soyuz booster rocket lifted off at 2:27 p.m. Thursday from the Russia-leased Baikonur facility in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft is carrying NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Russian crewmates Sergei Mikaev and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov. They are scheduled to dock at the space station about three hours after liftoff. All three are expected to spend about eight months at the orbiting outpost. NASA says this is the first spaceflight for physicist Williams and military pilot Mikaev. This is the second flight for Kud-Sverchkov.