The Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket carrying a Progress MS-11 cargo ship blasts off to the International Space Station (ISS) from the launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on April 4, 2019. (ROSCOSMOS PHOTO)
MOSCOW, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Thursday successfully launched a Progress MS-11 unpiloted cargo resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos said in a statement.
The launch of the spacecraft by the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket was carried out at 14:01 Moscow time (1101 GMT) from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The spacecraft, scheduled to dock with the ISS in three hours and 24 minutes after the takeoff, will deliver over 2.5 tons of fuel, condensed air and oxygen, water, food and other cargoes necessary for the operation of the station in manned mode, Roscosmos said.
Two more cargo ships of the Progress type will be launched this year on July 31 and Dec. 20 respectively.
Another two cargo ships will deliver supplies to the station from the United States later this month, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said in a separate statement Thursday.