Russian spaceship with UAE astronaut blasts off into space

(Reuters) - A Russian Soyuz spaceship blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome towards the International Space Station on Wednesday carrying a crew of three, including the first astronaut from the United Arab Emirates, NASA television reported.

Emirati astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori, Russian commander Oleg Skripochka, and flight engineer Jessica Meir of NASA were expected to dock with the space station about six hours later.

(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Alison Williams)