April 20, 2017 the launch vehicle (LV) Soyuz FG with manned spacecraft Soyuz МS-04 with a crew of the long duration expedition ISS-51/52 successfully lifted off from Gagarin start of BAIKONUR Space Center at 10:13 MT. According the flight program, the first three stages of Soyuz FG have taken the manned spacecraft into low orbit just short of eight minutes and forty-eight seconds after liftoff. Korolev Mission Control Center specialists have taken the further Soyuz MS-04 flight to ISS under control.

The spacecraft carries onboard the crew consisting of spacecraft commander Feodor YURCHIKHIN (ROSCOSMOS) and onboard engineer Jack FISСHER (NASA).

According to telemetry data, the spacecraft insertion into low-Earth orbit and separation from the third stage of the launch vehicle occurred on schedule, deployment of all antennas and solar array panels was detected immediately after the separation. Systems and assemblies of the upgraded spacecraft operate normally. The crew reports a good health status.

The spacecraft Soyuz MS-04 will use a short 4-orbit rendezvous capability. The docking with the Mini Research Module (MRM2) Poisk is scheduled for 16:23 MT and is to be performed in the fully automatic mode.