MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. This year, Russia plans to hold two Soyuz-MS flights to the International Space Station (ISS) under the three-hour scheme, the head of the ballistics department of the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, Rafail Murtazin, has told TASS.

"This year, we will try to carry out two Soyuz flights under the two-orbit flight scheme, and use the two-day scheme for space freighters," he said.

The first manned spaceflight under the two-orbit rendezvous scheme took place in October 2020. During that launch, the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft reached the orbital station in three hours and three minutes. The next Soyuz MS launch, scheduled for April 9, will also be carried out under the two-orbit scheme and is expected to take about 3.5 hours.