You can watch the action live when Russia launches a robotic cargo ship into orbit tonight, October 25.
At 8:20 p.m. EDT tonight, a Soyuz rocket is slated to launch the unmanned Progress 82 freighter toward the International Space Station (ISS) from Kazakhstan’s Russian-run Baikonur Cosmodrome (0020 GMT and 5:20 a.m. local Baikonur time on Oct. 26). At 8:20 p.m. EDT tonight, a Soyuz rocket is slated to launch the unmanned Progress 82 freighter toward the International Space Station (ISS) from Kazakhstan’s Russian-run Baikonur Cosmodrome (0020 GMT and 5:20 a.m. local Baikonur time on Oct. 26).
Approximately 3 tonnes of food, fuel, and other supplies are being transported by Progress 82 for the Expedition 68 crew aboard the orbiting lab.
If all goes as planned, the cargo will pursue the ISS for two days before ultimately catching up with it and docking on Thursday, October 27 at 10:49 p.m. EDT (0249 GMT on October 28). Thanks to NASA TV, you can see the arrival right here on Space.com as well. The coverage will start at 10:15 p.m. EDT (0215 GMT on Oct. 28).
One of the three robotic spacecraft that currently transport cargo to the ISS is Progress. The other two are privately owned American vehicles, the Cygnus from Northrop Grumman and the Dragon from SpaceX.
Progress and Cygnus are disposable spacecraft that explode in Earth’s atmosphere when their orbital period is up, while Dragon is a reusable spacecraft. In truth, the Progress 80 spacecraft recently perished after departing from the International Space Station on Sunday, October 23. Shortly after, it executed a planned death dive.
