The next crew to the International Space Station launched today on Soyuz MS-05. It was early morning here in the US but late evening at Baikonour; this created lighting conditions that allowed for some of the most beautiful Soyuz launch footage I have ever seen!
It’s well worth checking the footage out since it so brightly shows the Korolev Cross, as well as the expansion of the exhaust plume from the Soyuz core stage.
Of course, the launch was a success, and the vehicle, at the time of me posting this article, is following the 6 hour rendezvous and docking profile, meaning they should be at the space station by tonight.
To the crew, Sergey Ryazansky, Paolo Nespoli, and Randy Bresnik, all I can say is, have fun up there.
To the reader, enjoy the launch footage, as always.