"The Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft separated from the carrier rocket at the designated time. The crew's condition is good," the official said.
The spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the orbital station on March 28.
The new crew of Commander Gennady Padalka from Russia, NASA astronaut Michael Barratt and U.S. space tourist billionaire Charles Simonyi will join Japan's Koichi Wakata, U.S. astronaut Michael Fincke and Russian Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov.
This is Hungarian-born Simonyi's second trip into space. His current journey has cost him some $10 million more than the $25 million he paid for his 2007 visit.
Padalka and Barratt will remain on the ISS for six months, and Simonyi will be on board for ten days before returning to Earth on April 7 with Fincke and Lonchakov.
By the end of May, the ISS will be constantly manned by six astronauts.
Meanwhile, the U.S. shuttle Discovery undocked from the ISS late on Wednesday and will pass a safety inspection before heading to Earth. The spacecraft is scheduled to land on March 28 at 13:42 EDT (17.42 GMT).
