#Russia tests a more powerful Soyuz-2.1b rocket - paving the way for larger cargo missions Russia has launched a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from Baikonur carrying the Progress MS-35 cargo ship to the ISS, testing a more powerful version of the rocket that could carry heavier loads to the station and, in the future, to Russia's planned orbital station, space historian Alexander Zheleznyakov told Sputnik. The Soyuz-2.1b rocket offers greater cargo capacity than the lighter Soyuz-2.1a