Russia will launch its latest Progress cargo ship toward the International Space Station today (April 25), and you can watch the action live.
The Russian freighter, known as Progress 95, is hauling about 3 tons of food, propellant and other supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
It will dock with the orbiting lab on Monday (April 27) at about 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT on Tuesday, April 28). You can watch that arrival at Space.com as well.
Today’s launch will kick off the second Progress mission of the year. Progress 94 lifted off from Baikonur on March 22 and reached the ISS two days later, overcoming the failed deployment of one of its docking antennas.
Progress 94 remains attached to the station. Progress 95 will dock to the port previously occupied by Progress 93, which departed on April 20 to make room for the newcomer.
Progress 93 burned up in Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, the fate that awaits all Progress craft when their missions are over. That time will come for Progress 95 about seven months from now.
Progress is one of four cargo spacecraft that resupply the ISS these days, along with Japan’s HTV-X, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus and SpaceX‘s Dragon capsule.
All are expendable except Dragon, which — like its astronaut-carrying counterpart, Crew Dragon — makes parachute-aided ocean splashdowns.