Russian Soyuz Manned Spacecraft Launch... Commemorating Gagarin's First Spaceflight 60th Anniversary

The Russian manned spacecraft Soyuz MS-18, named "Yuri Gagarin," was launched on the 9th (local time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] A Russian manned spacecraft named after Yuri Gagarin, the first human astronaut, was launched to the International Space Station (ISS).

The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) announced on the 9th that at 10:42 AM (Moscow time), the manned spacecraft 'Soyuz MS-18' was successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the 'Soyuz-2.1a' rocket carrier.

Onboard the spacecraft were three astronauts: Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei. About 3 hours and 25 minutes after launch, the spacecraft will dock with the ISS's 'Rassvet' (Dawn) module, and the astronauts will stay on the ISS for 191 days to carry out various missions. All of them have been vaccinated as a preventive measure against COVID-19.

The Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft launched that day was named 'Yuri Gagarin' to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first human spaceflight by Gagarin. Additionally, the rocket's nose cone was engraved with a portrait of Gagarin and the inscription 'Year of Gagarin 1961~2021'.