On June 6, 2018 at 11:12 UTC the Russian “Soyuz MS-09” spacecraft was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome. The space vehicle was orbited by the Russian “Soyuz-FG” rocket-carrier. The spacecraft is piloted by 3 cosmonauts: Commander, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Prokopiev (center), German astronaut Alexander Gerst (right) and American astronaut Serena Maria Auñón-Chancellor (left).

Photo by Russian Cosmonaut training center.

The space vehicle is to dock with the International Space Station on June 8. Prokopiev, Gerst and Auñón-Chancellor will join current ISS expedition members Artemyev, Feustel and Arnold.