The Russian Soyuz-FG rocket scheduled for a Wednesday take off to the International Space Station (ISS) was Sunday moved to its launch pad – Gagarin’s Pad – at the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan.

In line with local tradition, the gradual rollout of the Soyuz carrier rocket - called TMA-19 - to the site commenced in southern Kazakhstan at 7 a. m. local time (0100 GMT) on Sunday. As the train carrying the Soyuz crossed a junction, it flattened coins that the well-wishers had laid on the track, to keep as souvenirs of the mission.

The spacecraft will carry a three-member Russian-US crew to the ISS, for a mission lasting nearly six months. The crew members - including cosmonaut Yuri Yurchihin and US astronauts Shannon Walker and Douglas Wheelcock – will join the ISS crew comprising Russian commander Alexander Skvortskov, Russia’s Mikhail Kornienko, and NASA flight engineer Tracy Caldwell Dyson.

The three members being carried to the ISS in the Russian spacecraft will remain at the international orbiting laboratory till the final shuttle, the Endeavour, departs back from its last planned mission at the ISS in November; after which the space shuttle fleet will be retired.

With the Soyuz rocket having moved to the launch pad, final preparations for the rocket’s blast-off will soon begin; and will be completed just hours before its early-Wednesday-scheduled launch.