On September 7, the payload module of launch vehicle Soyuz-FG with spacecraft Soyuz MS-06 developed and produced by RSC Energia was transported from the spacecraft assembly and testing facility (SC ATF) to the launch vehicle integration and test facility (LV ITF) for final assembly.

Processing operations on final assembly are planned for tomorrow, September 8, within the prelaunch processing under the International Space Station (ISS).

Before transporting the payload module with spacecraft Soyuz MS-06 for final assembly the spacecraft was subject to a check inspection during which the prime and backup crews took their places in the spacecraft, familiarized with the operating controls and checked functionality of various systems in a test mode.

The ISS-53/54 Expedition crew consists of Alexander MISURKIN (spacecraft commander, ROSCOSMOS) and astronauts Mark VANDE HEIand Joseph ACABA (flight engineers, NASA). Their backups are cosmonaut Anton SHKAPLEROV (spacecraft commander, ROSCOSMOS) and NASA astronauts Скотт ТИНГЛScott TINGLE and Shannon WALKER (flight engineers, NASA).

The launch of LV Soyuz-FG with Soyuz MS-06 is scheduled on September 13, 2017 from Launch site No.1 (Gagarin’s Launch Pad) of Baikonur cosmodrome.