BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan - A Russian rocket carrying U.S. billionaire Charles Simonyi and two Russian cosmonauts blasted off late yesterday from the Baikonur cosmodrome en route to the international space station.

Simonyi, a 58-year-old Hungarian-born software programmer who helped develop Microsoft Word, paid more than $20 million for a 13-day trip to the orbiting station.

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He is the fifth paying space tourist to make the trip so far. "It was the best thing I've seen in my life, and to be here with Charles means a lot to me," said Victoria Scott, a friend of Simonyi's who watched the blastoff yesterday.

Also among those bidding farewell to Simonyi and cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov was Simonyi's friend Martha Stewart, an American lifestyle guru who runs a home decorating and cooking business empire.

In a posting on the blog he intends to maintain while in orbit, Simonyi said he spent his final day getting a haircut and a therapeutic massage, and watched a traditional showing of a classic Soviet-era war film.

While at the space station, Simonyi will be conducting a number of experiments, including measuring radiation levels and studying biological organisms inside the lab.