On October 14, 2020 at 05:45 UTC the Russian “Soyuz MS-17” spacecraft was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome. The space vehicle was orbited by the Russian “Soyuz-2.1a” rocket-carrier. The spacecraft is piloted by 3 cosmonauts: Commander, Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov (center) and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov (right) as well as American astronaut Kathleen Rubins (left).

Photo by Russian Cosmonaut training center.

The launch was performed from Launch Site 31 (Baykonur Cosmodrome Site 31). The “Soyuz MS-17” space vehicle is to dock with the International Space Station in about 3 hours after the launch. Sergey Ryzhikov, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Kathleen Rubins will join current ISS expedition members Anatoli Ivanishin, Ivan Vagner and Christopher Cassidy.