Russian Space Cargo Ship 'Progress' Launch Successful

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The Russian space cargo ship was successfully launched on the 15th (local time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Russian space agency Roscosmos announced.

According to RIA Novosti and other sources, the cargo ship "Progress MS-16" was launched from the Baikonur base at 7:45 a.m. local time on the same day, carried by the Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrier, and separated from the third stage of the rocket at 7:54 a.m., heading toward the International Space Station (ISS).

The cargo ship is scheduled to dock with the ISS at 9:20 a.m. on the 17th after approximately two days of flight.

The cargo ship carries 600 kg of fuel, 420 kg of water, and 2.5 tons of supplies including daily necessities for the astronauts staying on the ISS, scientific experiment equipment, and sealant to block air leaks inside the ISS.

It is known that the minor air leak discovered in August last year at the ISS is still ongoing. Also, food supplies for Russian astronauts, which had run low due to the delay of the cargo ship launch originally scheduled for December last year, were included.

Russian astronauts are reportedly sharing food supplies with American astronauts. Currently, on the ISS, Russian astronauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, who arrived on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft in October last year, and American astronaut Kathleen Rubins are carrying out their missions for the fourth month.

Along with them, American astronauts Michael Hopkins, Shannon Walker, and Victor Glover, who arrived on the American private manned spacecraft Crew Dragon in November last year, and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi are also staying on the space station.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.