The launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome was streamed live by the Russian space agency (Roscosmos). Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin and Dmitry Rogozin, director general of the agency, watched the launching together.
The spacecraft lifted off at 1.42 p.m. local time (0742 GMT) from the spaceport and left the orbit after nearly nine minutes. It is expected to dock at the ISS after around three-and-a-half hour journey.
