Russia launched an unprogrammed Progress cargo plane from Kazakhstan on Sunday, on course to deliver 2.7 tonnes of food, fuel, water and supplies to the International Space Station before removing an unnecessary portion of the outpost later this year. way for a new laboratory module.
The Progress MS-16 cargo ship took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz 2.1a rocket at 11:45:06 EST Sunday (0445: 06 GMT; 09:45:06 local time).
The kerosene-powered launcher quickly disappeared into a soupy cloud list, but a live video of ‘rocket combs’ on board showed the Soybeans climbing through the atmosphere before dropping off four first stage amplifiers and an aerodynamic cloak that covered the Progress spacecraft for the first time. few minutes flight.
The Soyuz later examined its core stage and started a third-phase engine to complete the task of placing the Progress MS-16 supply ship in a provisional orbit.
The lifting of a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Food Modrum in Kazakhstan with more than 2.7 tons of fuel, food, water and supplies for the International Space Station. https://t.co/hB7ZqpePbR pic.twitter.com/1sHI1r7hcq
– Space Fly Now (@SpaceflightNow) 15 February 2021
The automatic truck separated from the third phase of Soyuz and unfolded solar panels and navigation antennas, which began a two-day quest for the space station that will culminate in a docking with the Pirs module of the space station at 1:20 AM EST (0620 GMT) Wednesday.
According to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency Roscosmos, the Progress MS-16 spacecraft was loaded with 2,444 kilograms of cargo and supplies carrying approximately 5,424 pounds of cargo and supplies.
The cargo contains about 1486 kilograms of dry cargo packed in the compartment under pressure from the Progress spacecraft. There are also 600 kilograms of propellant in the space station’s Zvezda service module propulsion system, along with 420 kilograms of fresh water and 926 kilograms of fresh water and 89 kg (40.5 kilograms) of compressed gases to supplement the space station’s breathing system. atmosphere.
The Russian Progress MS-16 cargo ship separated from its Soyuz launcher and deployed solar panels following a successful takeoff in a Baikonur food modem orbit, and headed for the International Space Station to dock on Wednesday. https://t.co/hB7ZqpePbR pic.twitter.com/vtfLBy6vrE
– Space Fly Now (@SpaceflightNow) 15 February 2021
The Soyuz rocket on Sunday marked the 77th launch of a Progress supply ship to the International Space Station since 2000. The previous Progress cargo ship, Progress MS-15, discharged from the space station on February 9 and made a devastating entry into the atmosphere, clearing debris and clearing the way for the arrival of fresh cargo delivery.
The Progress MS-16 spacecraft also has equipment to detect and resolve cosmonaut leaks on the space station, plus Russian biomedical experiments and a research charge to investigate the acquisition of food and oxygen from algae in microgravity, Roscosmos said. .
The supply ship will remain at the space station until July, when the Progress will leave according to plan with the Pirs landing site behind. The Progress MS-16, along with the unused Pirs module, returns itself to the atmosphere to burn up at the end of its mission.
The Pirs module has served as a mooring gate and an airlock for cosmonauts on space travel since 2001. A similar module called Poisk serves a similar function and will stay with the space station.
The removal of the Pirs module clears a docking port on the Zvezda service module, the central hub of the Russian space station’s segment, for the arrival of the long-delayed Nauka laboratory later this year after the launch of a heavy lift Proton rocket. The Nauka laboratory module is the largest addition to the Russian segment of the station since 2000, when Zvezda itself was introduced.
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