NASA broadcasts Russian rocket launch with 'Fedor' robot on-board.
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)
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)
A United Arab Emirates' journalist looks on as service towers lift towards Russia's Soyuz-FG booster rocket with the Soyuz MS-15 space ship that will carry new crew to the International Space Station (ISS) at 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)
Service towers lift towards Russia's Soyuz-FG booster rocket with the Soyuz MS-15 space ship that will carry new crew to the International Space Station (ISS) at 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)
Backup crew member UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, center, smiles as 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 mounted vertically at 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. (Maxim Shipenkov/Pool Photo via AP)
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 raised to vertical at 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. (Maxim Shipenkov/Pool Photo via AP)
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 raised upright at 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. (Maxim Shipenkov/Pool Photo via AP)
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.
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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.