A Russian Progress freighter took off from Kazakhstan late on Sunday atop a Soyuz booster, carrying 2.5 tons of supplies and equipment bound for the International Space Station. Under a gloomy overcast sky, the launch from location 31 in the Baikonur Cosmodrome came at 11:45 PM EST (10:45 AM Monday local time) when the Soyuz 2.1a nuclear stage and strap-on boosters ignited with a current flaming exhaust fumes.
Eight minutes and 45 seconds after launch, the rocket’s third stage failed and fell away, and a few seconds later, the freighter’s solar panels and antennas unfolded and locked as planned.
Roscomos / NASA
If all goes well, the freighter Progress MS-16 / 77P will perform a 33-orbit automated rendezvous with the space station, overtaking and approaching to dock at Russia’s Earth-facing Pirs module at around 1:20 a.m. Wednesday .
On Board: 5,424 pounds of equipment and supplies, including 3,086 pounds of dry cargo, 1322 pounds of propellant, 926 pounds of water, and 89 pounds of compressed gas.
Later this year, the Progress will be used to pull the Pirs module away from the station, paving the way for a new Russian laboratory module to be connected.