Live coverage: Proton rocket blasts off with Astra 2G

With an absence of fanfare amid coronavirus safety protocols, an upgraded Russian Soyuz rocket making its first piloted flight blasted off from Kazakhstan Thursday carrying two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut on a speedy four-orbit trip to the International Space Station.

Take a look back at the fiery blastoff of a Russian Proton rocket Monday with the ExoMars 2016 mission to examine the red planet’s atmosphere and test new European entry, descent and landing technologies.

Track the progress of the Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft and its three-person crew through Wednesday’s countdown and launch, followed two days later by docking with the International Space Station on Friday.