国际英语新闻:Russia launches Soyuz spacecraft with two-men crew to ISS

MOSCOW, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Thursday successfully launched its Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft carrying two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), the Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos said.

The launch of the Soyuz-FG carrier rocket with the spacecraft took place at 10:13 a.m. Moscow time (0713 GMT) from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Roscosmos said.

The two men aboard the spacecraft are Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) astronaut Jack Fischer. They are expected to spend 136 days in space this time.

The docking of the spacecraft is scheduled for 04:23 p.m. Moscow time (1323 GMT), Roscosmos said.

The launch was initially scheduled for March 27, but was delayed for more safety checks.