On Wednesday, 21 September, a Soyuz carrier rocket launched from the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan with two Russian astronauts Sergei Prokopiev and Dmitry Petelin and American Frank Rubio on their way to the International Space Station, as planned, despite the tense situation between the two countries in the current geopolitical context, and three hours later, the spacecraft docked with them to ISS.
For its part, the space station's inhabitants were surprised to observe the Soyuza's journey into space since it took off at a height of 400 kilometres under their feet, photographs taken by the ESA astronaut, Samantha Christoforetti, and NASA astronaut Bob Heins, and from their position on the edge of space, the crew saw the launcher rocket and its trail burst out of the Earth's reach through the thin atmosphere of our planet.
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