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28 Jan, 23:47Updated at: 29 Jan, 03:38

Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft to be launched to ISS in April — senior Roscosmos official

The departure of the Soyuz MS-26 crew - Roscosmos cosmonaut Ivan Vagner, Alexey Ovchinin and NASA astronauts Donald Pettit - has to be rescheduled as well

MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. The launch of the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) has been slated for April, Sergey Krikalev, Roscosmos executive director for crewed space programs, has told TASS.

When asked when the spacecraft is to blast off, he replied briefly: "In April."

The departure of the Soyuz MS-26 crew - Roscosmos cosmonaut Ivan Vagner (a TASS special reporter in space), Alexey Ovchinin and NASA astronauts Donald Pettit - has to be rescheduled as well. It was tentatively scheduled for April 1, but the crew will have to stay aboard the ISS longer than planned.

"Everything will be synchronized. If the launch date is postponed, then the landing will also be rescheduled," Krikalev said.

In December Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos announced plans to extend the flight duration of Soyuz MS manned spacecraft to seven-nine months from the current six months next year to economize on a spaceship every two years.