Soyuz Rocket installed on launch pad for first manned mission

The launch is scheduled for December 3, 11:31 GMT, and the docking with the ISS is expected to take place at 17:36 GMT on the same day. The spacecraft will be piloted by Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko together with astronauts David Saint-Jacques and Anne McClain from Canada and the United States respectively.

In October, an accident occurred minutes after the liftoff of a Soyuz-FG launch vehicle carrying the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft after which, an emergency escape capsule allowed the crew to return to Earth safely.

After the failed start, three unmanned Soyuz missions have been launched successfully.