Russian rocket launches don’t get nearly as much play as, say, a SpaceX launch.But in light of recent events, the Soyuz rocket blasting into orbit at 12:55 AM EST tonight, which will carry a spacecraft loaded with food and supplies to the worldwide Space Station, is more important than usual. The explosion incinerated a Dragon capsule that was carrying roughly 5,000 (2,200 kg) lbs of food, equipment and science experiments. Left in low orbit, the Progress cargo spaceship fell to Earth over the Pacific on May 8.
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However, the vehicle was doomed just minutes into its launch, as the Soyuz 2-1A rocket that lofted Progress suffered a major malfunction during third stage flight. This issue has been linked to vibrations in the connection between the spacecraft and the third stage of its Soyuz rocket. A successful arrival of the freighter will add about one month to the supply levels of vital logistics such as water and food.
After no-shows from two supply rockets over the last few months, surely the three-man ISS crew are getting a little peckish by now?
The next resupply mission to the global Space Station is a Japanese HTV cargo craft that is scheduled to launch in August.
The cargo ships function as a railroad to space and function as the lifeline to keep the station continuously crewed and functioning. However, the failures have undoubtedly affected the morale of the ISS astronauts so I’m sure on Sunday they’ll be very happy to see a ship from Earth docking with the station once again.
SpaceX had only recently completed its successful CRS-6/SpX-6 mission when it was tasked with another supply run to the Station.
There is concern that any failures during the Progress mission will cause delays to the Soyuz TMA-17M mission, scheduled to launch in less than three weeks. On Sunday, it’s set to dock at the station now manned by Russians Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Kornienko and NASA’s Scott Kelly.
The global Space Station (ISS) has been in for a bumpy ride recently, with mishaps in supply deliveries meaning stocks are beginning to dwindle. It circles the planet every 90 minutes.
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The ISS measures 357 feet end-to-end and has more space than a six-bedroom house. They were to be joined by three more in May, but that launch was delayed in the wake of Progress M-27M.
