Russia has successfully launched a cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station (ISS) following the failure of two previous missions to send food and material to its cosmonauts.

The televised images on Friday showed the Progress M-28M ship departing in a cloud of white smokes from Russian-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan.

Reports said a Russian Soyuz U rocket successfully lifted the ship carrying almost three tons of food supplies and scientific materials into the space. The Russian Federal Space Agency, known as Roscosmos, said the vessel is expected to arrive at the ISS at 0713 GMT on Sunday.

The successful launch comes against the backdrop of two previous failed attempts to deliver supplies to the space station.

Russian media called the Progress M-28M’s launch a crucial one, although they said the three men onboard the ISS have enough supplies that will last them around three months.

In May, a similar Progress vessel entered the wrong orbit and failed to dock at the ISS.

The failure delayed Russia’s next manned flight to the ISS which was planned for late May. Moscow announced one such mission would come on July 23 after issues related to the rocket used for the lifting are thoroughly investigated.

In late June, a Falcon 9 rocket transporting more than two tons of material exploded shortly after the lift from Cape Canavera.

The successful launch Friday came a day after a privately-owned rocket on a same mission to resupply the ISS exploded in the United States.

Russia and the US keep vying for supremacy in the space. Moscow launches its own spacecraft to the ISS, while Washington has turned to private firms for sending supplies to the space station.

MS/MKA