Photo by: NASA
Liquid propellant rocket engines RD-107А/RD-108А built by PJSC "Kuznetsov", a Samara company of the United Engine Corporation, ensured successful launch of the spacecraft of the new "Soyuz MS-06" series manned by the long-term expedition crew to the International Space Station (ISS).
The launch of the manned spacecraft "Soyuz MS-06" was made on 13 September at 12:47 a.m. Moscow time from launch site No. 1 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome ("Gagarin's Start"). The long-term expedition to ISS-53/54 included the Roscosmos Commander Alexander Misurkin and NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joseph Acaba. The new-series spacecraft was placed into orbit by "Soyuz-FG" rocket with RD-107А/RD-108А engines installed on the first and second stages commercially built by PJSC "Kuznetsov". The equipment that had been subjected to a three-phase quality control worked perfectly.
This launch was the third launch of a manned spacecraft in 2017. In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the first artificial satellite the crew members picked its miniature model made of the "Buran" spacecraft's part – an in-flight zero gravity indicator. The spacecraft docked to ISS several hours later, at 05:55 a.m. Moscow time.
