Tech2 news teamFebruary 16, 2021 3:58:19 PM IST
An unmanned Russian cargo ship launched successfully Monday with a load of supplies for the International Space Station. The Progress MS-16 cargo ship took off as scheduled at 10:15 am IST (0445 GMT) from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan and reached a designated orbit en route to the station. According to a Space.com report, it carries approximately 2,460 kg of cargo and supplies for the crew currently on board the station. That includes 1,400 kg of crew and research supplies such as food and clothing, along with a supply of fresh water, nitrogen gas and propellant for the propulsion system of the station’s Zvezda service module.
In this photo taken on Monday, February 15, 2021, and distributed by the Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Progress MS-16 cargo lifts off the launch pad at Russia’s space facilities in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The Russian cargo ship Progress MS-16 took off from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan and reached a designated orbit en route to the International Space Station. (Photo from the Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service via AP)
The space outpost is now operated by NASA’s Kate Rubins, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker; The astronaut of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Soichi Noguchi; and Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos.
The report also mentions that the Pirs module will be retired when the Progress 77 spacecraft completes its mission in July and instead the Russian space agency will replace it with its long-awaited Nauka laboratory.
The Pirs module is a docking port on the Zvezda service module that functions as an airlock for the station’s crew members to use when conducting Russian-led spacewalks.
with input from The Associated Press
