An unmanned Russian cargo ship has launched successfully with a load of supplies for the International Space Station
An unmanned Russian cargo ship launched successfully Monday with a load of supplies for the International Space Station.
The Progress MS-16 cargo ship blasted off as scheduled at 9:45 a.m. (0445 GMT) from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan and reached a designated orbit en route to the station.
It is carrying water, propellant and other supplies and is set to dock at the space outpost on Wednesday.
The space outpost is now operated by NASA's Kate Rubins, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi; and Russian Space Agency Roscosmos' Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.
Quelle: abcNews
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Russian cargo ship heads for space station, loaded with 2-and-a-half tons of supplies and equipment
A Russian Progress cargo ship blasted off from Kazakhstan atop a Soyuz booster late Sunday, carrying 2-and-a-half tons of supplies and equipment bound for the International Space Station. Under a gloomy overcast sky, launch from Site 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome came at 11:45 p.m. EST (10:45 a.m. Monday local time) when the Soyuz 2.1a booster's core stage and strap-on boosters ignited with a rush of flaming exhaust.
Eight minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff, the rocket's third stage shut down and fell away and a few seconds later, the cargo ship's solar arrays and antennas unfolded and locked in place as planned.
If all goes well, the Progress MS-16/77P cargo ship will carry out an automated 33-orbit rendezvous with the space station, catching up and closing in for docking at Russia's Earth-facing Pirs module around 1:20 a.m. Wednesday.
