Russian cargo ship sets off after the International Space Station in dramatic sky show

A Russian Progress cargo ship blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday and set off after the International Space Station, climbing into the light of the rising sun and putting on a spectacular show as its expanding exhaust plume billowed and blossomed in the upper atmosphere.

The Progress MS-17/78P spacecraft and its Soyuz 2-1a booster took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 7:27 p.m. ET (4:27 a.m. Wednesday local time), lighting up the predawn sky as it climbed directly into the plane of the space station's orbit to kick off a two-day rendezvous. As it gained altitude, the rocket's exhaust plume expanded in the lower-pressure of the upper atmosphere, illuminated by the sun in dramatic fashion in a coincidence of launch timing. A few minutes later, the unpiloted Progress spacecraft separated from the Soyuz upper stage, unfolded its solar arrays and began chasing down the space station.