On November 10, 2009 a "Soyuz-U” rocket-carrier blasted off from Baykonur Cosmodrome at 14:22 UTC.
The rocket orbited the "MIM 2” research module also named as "Poisk”.
The "Poisk”, which means "search" or "explore" in Russian, was attached to the service module of a Russian Progress unmanned supply spacecraft, providing electrical power and propulsion for the module during its two-day journey to the space station.
The new module is the first major Russian addition to the ISS since the nearly identical "Pirs” module was launched in 2001. The "Pirs” is located on Zvezda's Earth-facing port, directly across from the future home of the "Poisk”.
"Poisk” will give the station a fourth docking port on the Russian segment, allowing for longer stays of future Progress freighters and more opportunities for crew handovers using Soyuz spacecraft. Future Russian spacewalks will use "Poisk” as an airlock. The module also carries electrical and data interfaces for experiments to be mounted to Poisk's exterior. Attachments: | 
