Soyuz carrier rocket with Progress MS-18 cargo spaceship blasts off from Baikonur

The Progress MS-18 cargo spaceship that was launched from the Baikonur spaceport8 has separated from the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket, according to a broadcast on Russian state space corporation Roscosmos’ website.

The spaceship will dock to the Russian segment of the International Space Stations (ISS) at 04:34 a.m. Moscow time on October 30.

Earlier, the space corporation posted snapshots on its website of the first and second rocket stages. The images featured stickers with Khokhloma ornaments, which originated in the eponymous village, now part of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. The rocket also bears symbols in honor of the 800th anniversary of Nizhny Novgorod.

The spaceship is to deliver to the ISS 470 kilograms of fuel, 420 liters of drinking water, 40 kilograms of air and oxygen in containers, 1,509 kilograms of equipment and materials, medical control and sanitary tools, clothing items, meals and fresh products.

Head of the Nutrition Department of the ISS Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Alexander Agureev, said that nutrition packages, which include ready-made meal kits for the New Year's table will be delivered on the Progress MS-18 spacecraft.