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Russia’s Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with resupply ship installed at Baikonur spaceport

A source in the domestic space industry said that the preparations for the rocket’s launch would take one day more than usual at the cosmodrome

Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket Yuri Smityuk/TASS

Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket

© Yuri Smityuk/TASS

MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. A Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with a Progress MS-11 resupply ship has been installed at the launch pad of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Russia’s Energia Space Rocket Corporation announced on Monday.

"The Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Progress MS-11 space freighter has been taken from the assembly and testing facility and installed at the launch pad of site No. 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Work has been started under the program of the first launch day," Energia said in a statement.

A source in the domestic space industry told TASS that the preparations for the rocket’s launch would take one day more than usual at the Baikonur Cosmodrome due to the need to carry out additional checks of the launcher’s control system.

The carrier rocket is set to blast off at 2:01 p.m. Moscow time on April 4. The resupply ship will deliver fuel, water and other cargoes to the International Space Station (ISS). The space freighter is set to dock with the orbital outpost 3 hours and 24 minutes after the launch (the so-called ultra-short flight scheme).

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