Russia launched a cargo ship to the International Space Station. The ship was launched on Saturday, July 16 on a mission to deliver supplies, three tons of food and fuel to the orbiting laboratory.

As per a spokesperson for the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, the unpiloted ISS Progress 64 cargo craft was launched Saturday at 5:41 p.m. EDT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to send supplies for the International Space Station crew. The resupply ship will journey for two days in space before arriving at the space station on Monday night, July 18. NASA TV will provide live coverage of Progress 64’s arrival beginning at 7:45 p.m.

At the time of the launch, the International Space Station was flying about 250 miles over Eastern Chad, in Western Africa. 9 minutes after the spacecraft was launched, it reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned during tests. Image Credit: Daily Mail
At the time of the launch, the International Space Station was flying about 250 miles over Eastern Chad, in Western Africa. 9 minutes after the spacecraft was launched, it reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned during tests. Image Credit: Daily Mail

Small fleet supplying the ISS                                               

The Progress line is one of a small fleet providing the International Space Station. During the last three decades, Progress line has flown more than 140 flights to space.

Russian Progress company usually replenish the space station’s stock carrying out items astronauts need to survive in space. In general terms, a disposable Progress spacecraft remains at the International Space Station for about six months and then it departs with a load of trash of three tons tops. When reaching the Earth’s atmosphere, the ship burns up. Once the spacecraft arrives at the space station’s Pirs Docking Compartment, the Progress 64 will spend more than six months docked at the outpost before departing in mid-January.

This time, the Progress space freighter will deliver 5,809 pounds of equipment and supplies, which are divided into 1,940 pounds of propellant, 926 pounds of water, 110 pounds of oxygen, and 2,833 pounds of equipment (dry cargo), crew supplies and spare parts.

The other leading providers of disposable automated spacecraft are private companies SpaceX and Orbital ATK. SpaceX flies Dragon spacecraft, and Orbital ATK operates Cygnus spacecraft.

Keeping in mind that the International Space Station does not have a fridge to store food, most of the astronauts nourishments are composed of shelf-stable or rehydrated foods. Supply launches also carry out freeze-dried food and coffee, equipment and other supplies involving space station’s toilets and filters.

It is planned to start another supply run with a SpaceX aircraft on Monday. A SpaceX ground crew at Cape Canaveral is getting everything ready for a middle-of-the-night launch of a Falcon 9 rocket. Monday’s launch will carry out another space station supply ship, mainly composed by nearly 5,000 pounds, about 2,257 kilograms, of supplies, experiments, and other equipment. It will be SpaceX’s ninth operational station resupply flight.

Source: Space