Progress MS-08 prepares for second launch to IS

MOSCOW. KAZINFORM Soyuz-2.1a rocket will be launched with Progress MS-08 resupply ship from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Tuesday at 11:13 Moscow time, TASS refers to Roscosmos.

"The launch of the Progress MS-08 cargo spacecraft is scheduled for the reserve date on February 13 at 11:13 Moscow time," the corporation said. The ship will be launched to reach the International Space Station (ISS) on a standard two-day scheme, its docking with the ISS is planned at 13:45 Moscow time on February 15.

Initially, Progress MC-08 was expected to start on an ultrashort two-turn scheme on February 11, but the launch did not take place - the automatic system of the launch complex at Baikonur canceled the operation. A source in the rocket and space industry told TASS that the cause of automatic cancellation of the launch was the malfunction of Soyuz-2.1a on-board computer.

The two-turn flight scheme means that the spacecraft will make two turns around the Earth and its path to the ISS, which will take approximately 3.5 hours.