The first modernized Progress MS cargo vessel has been launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station, a Roscosmos spokesman said Monday.

Initially, the launch of the spaceship was scheduled for November 21, but the experts insisted on conducting additional checks.

"The launch was performed at the scheduled time. The separation from the third stage of the Soyuz [carrier rocket] from the cargo vessel is expected at 11:55 Moscow time [08:55 GMT]," the spokesman told RIA Novosti.

The Progress MS will deliver around 2.5 metric tons of goods to the ISS, including fuel, water and compressed oxygen.

On Saturday, Russian Progress M-28M cargo spacecraft, launched in July, undocked from the ISS after delivering supplies and was drowned in the so-called spacecraft cemetery in the Pacific Ocean. The spacecraft brought over 2.5 tons of cargo, including fuel, air, food and scientific equipment for the ISS crew.

earlier report
Soyuz Rocket Carrier Blasts Off From Baikonur With New ISS Crew
A Soyuz TMA-19M rocket carrier has been launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with three new crew members heading to the International Space Station.

The new crew members are Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra, and European Space Agency astronaut Timothy Peake.

The Soyuz is set to dock with the International Space Station six hours after it was launched at 17:12 GMT. Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Korniyenko and Sergey Volkov, as well as NASA's astronaut Scott Kelly are currently on board the ISS.

The fresh crew is set to carry out work with the Progress M-M cargo craft, conduct a spacewalk for the Russian space program, dock Dragon and Sygnus cargo spacecraft for the United States and retrofit the Russian and US ISS segments.

The ISS is a joint project between the European, Russian, US, Canadian, and Japanese space agencies. Launched in 1998, it eventually replaced Russia's Mir space station to serve as a low orbit laboratory and observatory. The station holds a maximum of six crew members.

Source: Sputnik News