Russian State Commission Approves Soyuz-2.1a Launch From Vostochny Cosmodrome

VOSTOCHNY COSMODROME (Russia) (Sputnik) – A Russian state commission, which gathered at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the country’s Far East, approved the launch of the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with two Russian Kanopus-V satellites and 26 smaller spacecraft from the spaceport, Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Thursday.

"The Vostochny Cosmodrome hosted a session of a state commission during which the results of the testing of the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket on a launch system were discussed. The state commission decided that the space rocket was ready for fueling and the subsequent launch. The specialists began filling the carrier rocket’s fuel tanks with oxidizing agent and fuel," Roscosmos wrote on Facebook.

READ MORE: Soyuz-2.1a Rocket's Launch Might Be Rescheduled for 2019 — Source

The liftoff is scheduled for 05:07 a.m. Moscow time (02:07 GMT).

The launch of the Soyuz-2.1a rocket with the Kanopus-V satellites number five and six and foreign spacecraft will be the last launch of the Russian space program this year.