Indiana native on crew headed to space station

An astronaut from Indiana is on his way to the International Space Station after blasting off in a Russian spacecraft.

Kevin Ford and two Russians were aboard the Soyuz when it lifted off on schedule Tuesday from Kazakhstan. They are expected to have a two-day journey to the space station, where they will join its current three-person crew.

The 52-year-old Ford grew up in Montpelier, Ind., and is scheduled to be at the station until March. He will spend much of that time as station’s commander.

This is Ford’s second space flight as he was the space shuttle Discovery’s pilot for a 2009 space station mission.

The former Air Force colonel is a graduate of Blackford High School and the University of Notre Dame.