Russia has laid out its ambition to gain an edge in the space race by building a nuclear-powered spaceship.

An unmanned Russian cargo ship blasted off today for the international space station to deliver supplies and equipment to its three-man crew, space officials said.

An unmanned Russian cargo ship carrying supplies and Christmas gifts for the crew of the international space station blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today, a Russian space agency spokesman said.