Russian supply ship launched to International Space Station

In this photo provided by the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) press service, a Soyuz-U booster rocket carrying the Progress MS-05 spacecraft blasts off from the Russian-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. The unmanned Russian cargo ship lifted off successfully Wednesday on a supply mission to the International Space Station. (Russian Space Agency Roscosmos press service via AP) (The Associated Press)

MOSCOW – An unmanned Russian cargo ship has lifted off successfully on a supply mission to the International Space Station.

A Soyuz booster rocket carrying the Progress MS-05 spacecraft blasted off as scheduled at 11:58 a.m. (0558 GMT) Wednesday from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch complex in Kazakhstan.

The mission follows the Dec. 1 botched launch of the previous Progress ship, which crashed less than 7 minutes after liftoff, spraying fiery debris over a sparsely populated area in southern Siberia near the border with Mongolia.

An official Russian investigation has concluded that the failed launch was caused by a manufacturing flaw in the Soyuz booster's third-stage engine.

Prior to Wednesday's launch, space officials ran rigorous checks of the engines already built and conducted a comprehensive scrutiny of manufacturing facilities.