LAUNCH OF RUSSIA’S NAUKA (SCIENCE) MODULE TO THE ISS, July 21, 2021, Kazakhstan, 10:58 am ET

Update, July 21:  Russia confirms the launch time is 14:58:25 UTC, which is 10:58:25 am EDT.

Update, July 8:  The new launch date/time is July 21, 2021 at 17:54 Moscow Time (10:54 am Eastern Daylight Time), with backup launch dates on July 22 and July 23.  NASA TV coverage begins at 10:30 am ET. [The NASA TV schedule says the launch is at 10:58 am EDT, not 10:54 as stated in the Roscosmos tweet.]

If launch takes place on July 21, docking will be on July 29 at 16:26 Moscow Time (9:26 am EDT). NASA TV coverage begins at 8:30 am ET.

Пуск ракеты-носителя «Протон-М» с модулем #Наука запланирован на 21 июля в 17:54 мск. Резервные даты — 22 и 23 июля.

Его полет к #МКС продлится 8 суток, и стыковка к надирному порту служебного модуля «Звезда» намечена на 29 июля, предварительно в 16:26 мск. pic.twitter.com/VG9KUMOLKg

— РОСКОСМОС (@roscosmos) July 8, 2021

Update, July 1:  The launch date is uncertain because the module had to be returned to the factory for additional work.

Original Entry:  Russia will launch is long-awaited Nauka (Science) module to the International Space Station (ISS) on July 15, 2021 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1:16 pm ET.  NASA TV coverage begins 12:45 pm ET.

If launch takes place as scheduled, it will dock at 12:28 pm ET on July 23.  NASA TV coverage begins at 11:45 am ET.

The 20 metric ton module is as large as the other two main Russian ISS modules (Zarya and Zvezda). Zarya was originally called the FGB (Functional Cargo Block), the first element of the ISS that was launched in 1998.  Nauka was originally built as FGB-2, a backup for Zarya.  The design dates back to earlier Soviet space station modules.