Even while in outer space, the human body still needs food and water to survive. The International Space Station members also cannot defy the basic human needs, and they will soon receive packages of food, water, fuel, and supplies from the unpiloted Progress cargo freighter sent by Russia from Kazakhstan on Sunday.
The news comes from Spaceflight Now, and the total amount of cargo from Russia’s spacecraft weighs 2.7 tons.
Thumbs up for the Soyuz-2.1a rocket
The Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was under the spotlight, as from that point the Soyuz-2.1a rocket blasted off while carrying the Progress MS-16 cargo ship.
Liftoff of a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with more than 2.7 tons of fuel, food, water, and supplies for the International Space Station. https://t.co/hB7ZqpePbR pic.twitter.com/1sHI1r7hcq
— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) February 15, 2021
The payload consists of around 3,086 pounds of dry cargo that’s packed inside the pressurized compartment of the Progress spacecraft. There are also 926 pounds of water and 89 pounds of pressurized gases for supplementing the space station’s atmosphere. The 1,322 pounds of propellant were destined for the space station’s service module propulsion system known as Zvezda. According to Roscosmos, the Progress MS-16 spacecraft is also carrying tools for helping cosmonauts detect leaks on the ISS, and there are also Russian biomedical experiments and a research payload for studying how to obtain food from algae under microgravity.
Another Spaceflight Now statement writes:
The Russian Progress MS-16 cargo freighter has separated from its Soyuz launcher and deployed solar panels after a successful ascent into orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, taking aim on the International Space Station for docking Wednesday.
The launch marked another important achievement: the 77th launch of a Progress supply ship for the International Space Station. The station represents the participation of five space agencies: NASA from the United States, Roscosmos from Russia, JAXA from Japan, ESA from Europe, and CSA from Canada.
