A Russian cargo ship is heading to a space station, loaded with 2 and a half tons of supplies and equipment

Russian cargo ship Progress left Kazakhstan at the top of the Soyuz elevator late Sunday, carrying 2 and a half tons of supplies and associated equipment for the International Space Station. Under a gloomy gloomy sky, it was launched from Site 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 11:45 pm EST (10:45 am Monday local time) when the main stage of the Soyuz 2.1a booster and strap-on boosters were lit with the ashes of a blazing flame. .

Eight minutes and 45 seconds after takeoff, the third stage of the rocket closed down and crashed and a few seconds later, the cargo ship’s solar arrays and antennas were opened and locked as expected.

If all goes well, the Progress MS-16 / 77P cargo ship performs an automated 33-orbit rendezvous with the space station, catching up and shutting down for docking at a module Pirs face Earth in Russia around 1:20 a.m. Wednesday.

On board: 5,424 pounds of equipment and supplies, including 3,086 pounds of dry cargo, 1,322 pounds of hydraulic equipment, 926 pounds of water and 89 pounds of compressed gas.

Later this year, the Progress will be used to pull the Pirs model away from the station, clarifying the way to connect a new Russian laboratory model.