Five astronauts living in space are preparing to receive a new shipment of supplies after Kazakhstan’s successful overnight launch of an unmanned Russian Progress cargo vehicle.
The mission, named Progress 76, took off on a Russian Soyuz rocket today (July 23) from the Russian workhorse launch site, Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan at 7:26 pm local time (10:26 am EDT, 1426 GMT). The capsule carried 2.7 tons (2,500 kilograms) of supplies for the two Russian cosmonauts and three NASA astronauts currently working on the International Space Station.
“Progress is now in its preliminary orbit, having completed a perfect ascent to orbit after a timely launch,” NASA spokesman Rob Navias said during a live stream of the launch. “Everything went according to the book at this morning’s launch of Progress to the International Space Station.”
Related: How Russia’s Progress spaceships work (infographic)
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On July 23, 2020, a Russian Soyuz rocket carrying an unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft packed with supplies took off from Kazakhstan. (Image credit: NASA TV)
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A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the unmanned Progress 76 cargo ship toward the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on July 23, 2020. It carries nearly 3 tons of supplies for the station’s crew. (Image credit: NASA TV / Roscosmos)
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A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the unmanned Progress 76 cargo ship toward the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on July 23, 2020. It carries nearly 3 tons of supplies for the station’s crew. (Image credit: NASA TV / Roscosmos)
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A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the unmanned Progress 76 cargo ship toward the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on July 23, 2020. It carries nearly 3 tons of supplies for the station’s crew. (Image credit: NASA TV / Roscosmos)
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A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the unmanned Progress 76 cargo ship toward the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on July 23, 2020. It carries nearly 3 tons of supplies for the station’s crew. (Image credit: NASA TV / Roscosmos)
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A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the unmanned Progress 76 cargo ship toward the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on July 23, 2020. It carries nearly 3 tons of supplies for the station’s crew. (Image credit: NASA TV / Roscosmos)
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A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the unmanned Progress 76 cargo ship toward the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on July 23, 2020. It carries nearly 3 tons of supplies for the station’s crew. (Image credit: NASA TV / Roscosmos)
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A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the unmanned Progress 76 cargo ship toward the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on July 23, 2020. It carries nearly 3 tons of supplies for the station’s crew. (Image credit: NASA TV / Roscosmos)
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A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the unmanned Progress 76 cargo ship toward the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on July 23, 2020. It carries nearly 3 tons of supplies for the station’s crew. (Image credit: NASA TV / Roscosmos)
After the perfect launch, the Progress capsule embarked on a quick two-orbit journey to the space station. The cargo ship is scheduled to arrive today at 1:47 pm EDT (1747 GMT); NASA television coverage from the berthing, you can see on Space.com, will start at 1 pm EDT (1700 GMT).
In total, shipping includes around £ 1,100. (500 kg) of fuel, 220 lbs. (100 kg) of air, 930 lbs. (420 kg) of water and 2,350 lbs. (1,070 kg) of spare parts and other dry goods, NASA spokesman Rob Navias told Space.com by email before launch.
Photo guide: The robotic fleet of cargo ships of the International Space Station
A view of Earth from space from a camera mounted on the outside of the Roscosmos Progress 76 cargo ship. One of the spacecraft’s wing-shaped solar panels can be seen stretched to the left. (Image credit: NASA TV / Roscosmos)
Progress 76 is slated to remain docked on the space station for more than four months, until the beginning of December, when it will exorb and burn safely in Earth’s atmosphere.
During your stay in the orbiting lab, you will see the end of a historic mission called Demo-2, which sent two NASA astronauts into space for two months aboard a commercial spacecraft, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, for the first time in history. Progress 76 should also see the arrival of the next Crew Dragon flight, which transports three NASA astronauts and one Japanese astronaut, currently scheduled for late September.
Email Meghan Bartels at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. Follow uson Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
