Russia successfully launched the Progress MS-21 space freighter aboard the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket to the International Space Station

Russia successfully launched the Progress MS-21 space freighter aboard the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket to the International Space Station (ISS), carrying a cargo of fuel, water, food and other equipment for its mission.

The spacecraft was launched at 03:20 Moscow time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, according to the Russian space agency Roscosmos.

The space freighter will transport 2,520 kilograms of cargo, including liquid nitrogen and equipment for conducting scientific experiments, to the orbital platform.

Here’s the liftoff of the Progress MS-21 space freighter:

In addition, it will bring to the International Space Station spools of filament for an on-station 3D printer designed to print in zero-gravity conditions.

The Progress MS spacecraft were created on the basis of the Soviet Soyuz manned spacecraft by the space company Energuia, in order to transport cargo to orbital stations and also serve for the correction of their orbits.

The last correction of this type was carried out the day before with the help of the Progress-20 spacecraft, which raised the ISS’s orbit by almost a kilometer to avoid collision with space debris.

Since 2018, the Progress MS spacecraft have been flying to the ISS after circling the Earth twice, which allows them to dock with the station 3 hours and 40 minutes after launch, unlike the initial schemes, which provided for 34 laps in a journey of 48 hours.

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