Astronauts to blast off for 1-year trip to space station
American astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian counterpart Mikhail Kornienko blast off early Saturday to begin a year away from Earth.
Gennady Padalka of Russia also is to be aboard the Soyuz space capsule; he is scheduled for the standard six-month tour of duty aboard the International Space Station.
The trip is NASA's first stab at a one-year spaceflight, anticipating Mars expeditions that would last two to three years.
