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Soyuz TMA-22 spaceship reaches assigned orbit

The Soyuz TMA spaceship is already on the assigned orbit, all the systems on board have been switched on, Popovkin said

BAIKONUR, November 14 (Itar-Tass) —— The Soyuz TMA-22 spaceship has reached the assigned orbit, Roscomos Chief Vladimir Popovkin declared at a meeting with journalists on Monday.

The Soyuz TMA spaceship is already on the assigned orbit, all the systems on board have been switched on, Popovkin said.

"We had double stress over this manned space launching because it was the first one following the Progress accident. Besides, the space crew is young, none of them has ever been to space on board the Soyuz", Roscomos chief said.

The Soyuz FG carrier rocket with the Soyuz TMS spaceship were launched at 8. 14 am Moscow time Monday. The spaceship has an international crew on board, including Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov, Anatoly Ivanishin and NASA astronaut Daniel Burbank, who are to stay on board the ISS on a long space mission. The Soyuz is scheduled to dock with the ISS at 9.33 am Moscow time on November 16.