Rocket with cargo spacecraft launched from Baikonur cosmodrome
MOSCOW. April 9 (Interfax-AVN) - The Soyuz-U rocket with the Progress N-23M cargo spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday evening, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) told Interfax-AVN.
"Progress will deliver fuel components, oxygen, equipment for scientific experiments, medical means and containers with food and water for astronauts to the international space station," a Roscosmos representative said.
Progress reached orbit in approximately nine minutes after launch, the representative said.
"Progress detached from the third stage of the rocket. Then the spacecraft will start approaching the international space station in approximately six hours. At that, its cruise engines will be involved. It is expected that the cargo spacecraft will reach the international space station at 1:16 a.m. Moscow time," the Roscosmos representative said.
The cargo spacecraft should deliver a total of 2.5 tonnes of cargo, in particular 420 kg of water in Rodnik (Spring) system containers, 1,215 kg of space equipment, 300 kg of food, and 367 kg of sanitary equipment (waste and water containers, device blocks for water etc.), the representative said.
The Russian cargo spacecraft will also deliver 132 kg of U.S. cargo (food, clothes, sanitary products, office supplies etc.) to U.S astronauts.
This is the first Progress launch following the launch of the Soyuz TMA-12M from Baikonur on March 26. It was planned that Soyuz would reach the international space station in six hours, however these plans had to be changed because the spacecraft could not perform a maneuver due to issues with its orientation system. As a result, Soyuz reached the international space station in two days. The orientation systems of Soyuz and Progress spacecrafts are almost identical.
