Russia launched a Progress resupply spacecraft on Thursday February 15 on the International Space Station (ISS), one of the rare Russian-American projects maintained despite tensions between the two countries against the backdrop of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
The Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying the Progress MS-26 spacecraft successfully took off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Russian Space Agency said on its Telegram channel, broadcasting a video of the takeoff.
The vessel was successfully put into orbit and is due to dock with the station on Saturday morning, according to the same source.
It must deliver fuel, equipment for scientific experiments and food products for the astronauts to the ISS crew.
Seven people are currently on board the flying laboratory: three Russian cosmonauts, two American astronauts, a Dane and a Japanese.
Flights to the ISS extended until 2025
In December, the Russian Space Agency and NASA agreed to extend their cross-flights to the International Space Station until 2025. Russia announced in July 2022 its intention to withdraw
“after 2024”
from the ISS, where its cosmonauts are permanently located and in which it plays a key role.
The creation of a new Russian orbital station is therefore presented as the priority by Moscow.
A model of international cooperation bringing together Europe, Japan, the United States and Russia, the ISS began to be assembled in 1998. Its retirement was planned for 2024, but NASA estimated that it could operate until in 2030.