WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The rocket lifted off at 9:51 a.m. local time (2:51 p.m. GMT) and the rocket malfunctioned during the third stage, the release explained.
"Our astronauts and the Russian cosmonauts are safe aboard the station. Consumables aboard the station are at good levels," the release stated.
1 December 2016, 16:32 GMT
Russia's Roscosmos space agency reported earlier on Thursday it had lost telemetry exchange with the Progress MS-04 space freighter some six minutes after the launch on board a Soyuz carrier rocket.
Earlier in the day, Russian Soyuz-U carrier rocket was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome carrying the new Progress MS-04 cargo spacecraft. The Progress space freighter has been carrying more than 2.6 metric tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 50 crew aboard the ISS.
