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Russia launches Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft with international crew to ISS

Xinhua, November 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

Russia successfully launched on Thursday its Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft carrying three crew members to the International Space Station (ISS), the Russian State Corporation Roscosmos said.

The launch of the Soyuz-FG carrier rocket with the spacecraft took place at 11:20 p.m. Moscow time (2020 GMT) from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Roscosmos said.

The spacecraft's crew includes Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet from France. They are scheduled to stay on board of the space station for 180 days.

The spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the ISS at 01:02 a.m. Moscow time on Sunday (2202 GMT on Saturday), Roskosmos said.

The launch of the spacecraft was initially planned for November 16, but was delayed for 24 hours due to technical problems. Enditem