The launch of the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with the Progress MS-35 cargo ship to the International Space Station, scheduled for September 9, has been postponed. Technical problems are cited as the reason. The rocket had already been rolled out to the launch complex and erected vertically, but now it will have to be removed from the launch device and returned to the assembly and testing facility for additional work.
What exactly happened to the rocket has not yet been reported. A new launch date will be determined after specialists identify and eliminate the cause of the technical problems. After that, the Soyuz-2.1b will have to undergo the necessary checks again and only then return to the launch complex.
The rocket with Progress MS-35 was rolled out to the launch pad on September 6. It was erected vertically at site No. 31 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch was planned for September 9 at 21:15 Astana time. Earlier it was reported that the rocket's preparation after rollout was proceeding on schedule.
Progress MS-35 is expected to deliver more than 2.5 tons of cargo for the crew to the ISS. This is a routine resupply mission for the station.
The launch postponement occurred almost immediately after the completion of the previous cargo ship's mission. Progress MS-33 undocked from the ISS on September 7, after which it was deorbited. The spacecraft entered the dense layers of the atmosphere and disintegrated, and its unburned elements fell into the non-navigable area of the South Pacific Ocean.