Russia shows off rocket that will launch astronauts to International Space Station
Russia is getting ready to launch a Soyuz MS-15 spaceship with a Soyuz FG booster rocket to the International Space Station from Kazakhstan on Wednesday.
Along for the ride will be the first astronaut from the United Arab Emirates, Hazzaa Al Mansouri, as well as U.S. astronaut Jessica Meir and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka.
PHOTOS:
Russia's Soyuz-FG booster rocket with the Soyuz MS-15 space ship that will carry new crew to the International Space Station (ISS) is transported from its hangar to the launch pad at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. The new Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled on Wednesday, Sept 25 with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, U.S. astronaut Jessica Meir and United Arab Emirates astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
After the United States' Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, the Soyuz rocket program became the sole transportation method for the American astronauts traveling to the International Space Station. And as a result, the price of booking a ride for American astronauts on Russia's rocket is very high; the current cost of a ticket is $80 million.
The Soyuz rocket first was used in 1966.
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The launch is scheduled for 9:57 a.m. ET Wednesday from Russian-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.