A spacecraft called the Victory Rocket was launched on the 8th of April from the Baikonur cosmodrome

Photo: Roscosmos

The RD-107A/RD-108A commercial rocket engines made by Samara-based UEC-Kuznetsov included in United Engine Corporation ensured successful start of the Soyuz MS-27 manned spacecraft with the crew of long-duration Expedition 73 to the International Space Station. 

On the 8th of April at 08:47 Moscow time, the Soyuz MS-27 manned transfer spacecraft was launched from launchpad No.31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome and delivered to orbit the Soyuz-2.1a space rocket. The RD-107A/RD-108A first-stage and second-stage sustainer engines made by UEC-Kuznetsov worked properly. 

The spacecraft was called the Victory Rocket, its exterior design uses official symbols of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory — the Motherland Calls sculpture is drawn on the launch vehicle. 

The Soyuz MS-27 crew includes the members of long-duration Expedition 73 to the ISS: Sergey Ryzhikov and Aleksey Zubritsky from Roskosmos and Jonathan Kim from NASA. The Soyuz will also deliver 180 kg of cargo to orbit, including personal items of the crew members, meals and fresh food, and science experiment kits. 

The RD-107А/108А and NK-33A rocket engines manufactured by Samara-based UEC-Kuznetsov ensured 15 starts of the Soyuz type space launch vehicles from the Baikonur, Vostochny and Plesetsk cosmodromes in 2024. This was the fourth launch in 2025.