The Soyuz MS-19 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) lifted off at 08:55 UTC (04:55 EDT) on Tuesday, October 5 from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, before docking after a two-orbit rendezvous – albeit after another troublesome docking, requiring manual control to complete the arrival.
The mission delivered one new Russian ISS crewmember for a six-month stay as well as an actress and director who will film the movie The Challenge. The mission is the first to launch under strict new regulations enacted last week by the Russian FSB (Federal Security Service) which essentially forbids its citizens from reporting on the Russian space program outside of Russia, less that person then be classified as a “foreign agent.”