A Russian cargo spacecraft arrived on the Worldwide Area Station early Thursday morning (Feb. 17), delivering practically 3 tons of provides and gear to the orbiting lab.
The Progress 80 freighter docked with the station’s Poisk compartment at 2:03 a.m. EST (0703 GMT), ending a roughly two-day orbital chase.
Progress 80 launched atop a Russian Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan late Monday evening (Feb. 14) and circled Earth 34 occasions earlier than catching up with the house station 270 miles (434 kilometers) above the South Pacific.
Associated: How Russia’s Progress spaceships work (infographic)
Progress 80 was full of 5,667 kilos (2,570 kilograms) of cargo, NASA officers mentioned throughout a webcast of the freighter’s arrival. The spacecraft delivered 948 kilos (430 kg) of propellant, 89 kilos (40 kg) of nitrogen, 926 kilos (420 kg) of water and three,704 kilos (1,680 kg) of spare components and different provides.
Progress is considered one of a handful of robotic resupply spacecraft that presently ship meals, water, gasoline and scientific {hardware} to the station and its rotating astronaut crews. The others are Northop Grumman’s Cygnus car, which can launch towards the orbital lab by itself mission this Saturday (Feb. 19), and SpaceX’s Dragon capsule.
Solely Dragon is reusable; Progress and Cygnus are designed to expend in Earth’s ambiance when their orbital work is finished.
Mike Wall is the writer of “Out There” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a e-book in regards to the seek for alien life. Comply with him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Comply with us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Fb.