Soyuz ferry craft rolls to launch pad

BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: September 23, 2014

The Soyuz rocket assigned to carry the International Space Station's next three-person crew into orbit rolled out to its launch pad Tuesday in Kazakhstan.

The three-stage rocket is set to launch Thursday (U.S. time) from Launch Pad No. 1, the facility where Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin launched on the first human spaceflight in April 1961.

Russian cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev will command the Soyuz TMA-14M space capsule. Cosmonaut Elena Serova, the first Russian woman to fly to the International Space Station, and veteran NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore will accompany Samokutyaev on the journey.

Tuesday's rollout began at sunrise, with the rocket riding horizontally on a railroad transporter for the trip to the launch pad. Once it arrived, the rocket was hoisted upright over the launch pad's flame trench, and access platforms raised to enclose the launcher.

Liftoff is set for 2025 GMT (4:25 p.m. EDT) Thursday, or 2:25 a.m. local time Friday in Kazakhstan.

See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.

Photo credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani