A Russian Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with a Soyuz MS-16 manned spacecraft blasted off from the Baikonur spaceport towards the International Space Station, according to a live broadcast on the website of Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos.

The first manned space launch this year is taking place amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the crewed Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft successfully lift off at 08:05:06 UTC on April 9, 2020 from the launch pad No.31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. All the flight stages went as expected.

At 08:13 UTC, the spacecraft separated from the third stage of the carrier rocket at the target orbit and is now in an autonomous flight on its way to the International Space Station being under control of the Main Operative Group of the Russian segment of the ISS at the Korolyov-based Mission Control Center.

Soyuz MS-16 approach to the ISS and berthing to the Roisk module is planned to be performed automatically according to a four-orbit scheme. The docking is scheduled to take place in about 6 hours, at 14:15 UTC.

The Soyuz MS-16 crewed spacecraft prime crew are Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, as well as NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy.