First Launch of Soyuz MS on New Soyuz-2 Rocket Planned in 2020 - Manufacturer

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A manned Soyuz MS spaceship will be launched to the International Space Station using a new Soyuz-2 launch vehicle in the first six months of 2020, Dmitry Baranov, the director general of Russia's Progress Rocket Space Center, told Sputnik.

"The first launch of the manned transport spacecraft Soyuz MS using the Soyuz-2 launch vehicle with a crew on board will take place in the first half of 2020," Baranov said.

READ MORE: US Asked Russia to Delay Soyuz MS-13 July Launch to ISS for Two Weeks — Source

At the moment, manned Soyuz spacecraft are being launched atop Soyuz-FG launch vehicle.

Earlier in March, the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station, bringing a new crew to humanity's only orbital outpost. The current ISS crew comprises Russian cosmonaut and Commander Oleg Kononenko, Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques and US astronauts Anne McClain, Nick Hague and Christina Koch.