Progress MS-16 freighter launched on two-day trek to space station

Progress MS-16 is launched atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: Roscosmos

The next Russian cargo ship bound for the International Space Station, Progress MS-16, has launched from Kazakhstan with fuel and supplies.

Liftoff took place at 04:45 UTC Feb. 15 atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from Site 31 at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Less than 10 minutes later, the autonomous Progress MS-16 was placed in orbit to begin its two-day trek to the ISS.

Progress MS-16 is carrying some 2,500 kilograms worth of cargo, propellant, air and water for the seven-person Expedition 64 crew currently aboard the ISS. It’s set to mate with the Pirs docking compartment at about 06:20 UTC Feb. 17 where it is expected to remain until July 2021.

Should the schedule hold, this cargo spacecraft is set to remove and de-orbit the Pirs docking compartment to clear the way for the Russian Nauka science module, which is slated to launch in July atop a Proton rocket.

Pirs’ departure would make it the first major ISS module to be retired, having been attached to the space station since September 2001.

NOTE: While this article was written by Derek Richardson, it was originally published at Spaceflight Insider.