A Russian rocket lifted off from the Baikonur space base Friday, carrying three crew to the International Space Station, including a US grandfather who is poised to enter the record books.

The rocket took off in windy conditions from Russia's space base in Kazakhstan at 2126 GMT, an AFP reporter saw.

The trio comprise Russians Oleg Skriprochka and Alexey Ovchinin, and grandfather of three Jeff Williams, a veteran of long-duration space missions. By the end of his half-year trip aboard the ISS, Williams "will become the American with the most cumulative days in space -- 534," NASA says