At the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the pre-launch processing of the Soyuz MS-18 crewed spacecraft under the program of Expeditions 65 and 66 to the International Space Station continues.

In accordance with the processing schedule, the specialists from RSC Energia and core enterprises of Roscosmos mated the Soyuz MS-18 to the adapter section of the launch vehicle upper stage block. The adapter section makes part of the ascent unit and ensures mechanical coupling of the spacecraft with the payload fairing, as well as integration of the Soyuz MS-18 command interface into the Soyuz-2.1a onboard control system.

The launch of Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft is scheduled for April 9, 2021. The prime crew consisting of commander Оleg Novitsky (Roscosmos), flight engineer 1 Pyotr Dubrov (Roscosmos) and flight engineer 2 Mark Vande Hei (NASA) continue preflight preparations at the cosmodrome. Their backups are Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov, Oleg Artemyev and NASA astronaut Anne McClain.