The launch of the Russian "Soyuz" spacecraft with an international crew aboard to the International Space Station (ISS) from the “Baikonur” cosmodrome is scheduled for March 27.

The 35th/36th expedition will include the commander of the spacecraft, cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov, the flight engineer, cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and the flight engineer, NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy. Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky, as well as NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins were approved as their backup cosmonauts. The main crew of the expedition will join to the already working on the ISS cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn and the Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield.