Russian ISS Progress 60 Spacecraft Successfully Delivers Supplies To Space Station
On Sunday, the Russian ISS Progress 60 spacecraft successfully docked at the International Space Station, delivering food, water, and other essential supplies to the Expedition 44 crew. The launch of the Russian ISS rocket comes after a series of unsuccessful launches throughout the past year that failed to deliver the necessary supplies.
The Russian Federal Space Agency issued the statement below after the docking had been confirmed.
“The transport cargo ship Progress M-28M has docked with the… Russian segment of the ISS at 10:11 a.m. Moscow time (0711 GMT).”
With foodstuffs and other necessities running low for the crew members on the station, the docking of the Russian spacecraft was an important one. Had Sunday’s launch failed to reach the International Space Station, NPR reports that the astronauts aboard would have enough consumables to last through the end of October of this year. Crew members were already taking precautions before the Russian ISS rocket landed, conserving some of their food supplies.
According to an official report by NASA, the unmanned ISS Progress 60 carried 1,940 pounds of propellant, 106 pounds of oxygen, 926 pounds of water, and 3,133 pounds of food, spare parts, logistical items, and experiment hardware.
The current crew consists of Russian astronauts Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Kornienko and NASA’s Scott Kelly. CNN reports that both Kelly and Kornienko are participating in NASA’s One Year Crew experiment, which seeks to observe and analyze the effects of long term space travel on the human body. Another three astronauts are scheduled to join the crew at the International Space Station at the end of July.
Measuring 357 feet and larger than a six-bedroom house, the space station circles the Earth every 90 minutes, orbiting about 250 miles above the planet.
The previously failed deployments included the unsuccessful launch of an SpaceX rocket in late June when it exploded shortly after lift off. The aircraft was stocked with a spacesuit, water filtration systems, food, water, and other provisions. Another failed launch occurred in April with Russia’s Progress 59 after communication failures. In October of last year, the U.S. Cygnus resupply carrier exploded as well after lift off.
[Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls]
