A Russian cargo mission is en route to the International Space Station (ISS), carrying essential supplies for the crew despite a minor technical concern during deployment.
The unpiloted Progress 94 spacecraft, operated by Roscosmos, successfully launched at 7:59 a.m. EDT (4:59 p.m. Baikonur time) aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft is now in orbit and heading toward the ISS.
Shortly after launch, one of the spacecraft’s two KURS automated rendezvous antennas did not deploy as expected. However, all other systems are functioning normally, and the mission remains on track for docking at 9:34 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24, at the space-facing port of the station’s Poisk module.
Roscosmos is currently working to resolve the antenna issue. If it remains undeployed, cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will manually guide the spacecraft during rendezvous and docking using the TORU (Telerobotically Operated Rendezvous System). This backup system allows remote manual control from the Zvezda Service Module aboard the ISS.
The Progress 94 spacecraft is carrying nearly 3 tons of cargo, including food, fuel, and essential supplies for the crew aboard the orbiting laboratory.
NASA will provide live coverage of the rendezvous and docking beginning at 8:45 a.m. via NASA+, Amazon Prime, and its official YouTube channel.
Despite the minor technical challenge, the mission continues as planned, ensuring timely delivery of critical supplies to support ongoing operations on the ISS.
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