Fresh Supply Ship Launches Toward Space Station

Fresh Supply Ship Launches Toward Space Station
A Russian-built Soyuz rocket carrying the Progress 19 spacecraft awaits launch at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Image credit: RSC Energia.)

An unmannedspaceship crammed with food, water and other equipment is chasing down theInternational Space Station (ISS) on a resupply mission for the two astronautsliving onboard.

TheRussian-built Progress 19 spacecraft successfully launched atop a Soyuz rocket from BaikonurCosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:08 a.m. EDT (1308 GMT), beginning a two-day tripto the ISS, NASA officials told SPACE.com.

ISSExpedition 11 commander Sergei Krikalev and flight engineer John Phillips, who havelived aboard the space station since April, are eagerly awaiting the Sept. 10arrival of Progress 19. The spacecraft is set to dock at the aft end of thestation's Zvezda module at about 10:50 a.m. EDT (1450 GMT) Saturday and deliverabout 2.5 tons of new tools, spare parts and supplies.

Progress 19will replace an older cargo ship, Progress 18, which undockedfrom the ISS Wednesday and burned up - for the most part - in the Earth'satmosphere, with some larger sections crashing into the Pacific Ocean. Beforecasting off the expendable supply ship, Krikalev and Phillips packed it full ofwaste, trash and other unneeded items.

Now flying towardthe ISS, Progress 19 is loaded with more than 5,175 pounds (2,347 kilogram) ofcargo. Among those supplies are 1,760 pounds (798 kilograms) of propellant,more than 52 gallons (196 liters) of water and about 2,700 pounds (1,224kilograms) of dry cargo, such as experiment hardware, spare parts and tools.

Beforelaunch, the spacecraft was fitted with 14 extra tanks to carry additionaloxygen and air supplies, which totaled about 242 pounds (109 kilograms) atliftoff, NASA officials said, adding that the spacecraft is also delivering 16 newsolid fuel oxygen generators (SFOGs), or "candles," which serve as an auxiliaryoxygen supply.

One vitalpiece of hardware aboard Progress 19 is a new liquid unit for the space station'sRussian-built Elektron device, which serves as the primary oxygen generator forthe orbital platform. The station's Elektron failedearlier this year after numerous repair efforts, forcing ISS astronauts to relyon reserve oxygen supplies in storage tanks and the SFOG candles.

The newliquid unit will hopefully allow Krikalev and Phillips to repair the generator,NASA officials said.

"That's whythey think it has failed," said NASA spokesperson Kylie Clem of the Elektronliquid unit. "So they've manufactured a few replacement units and soon after[Progress 19] arrives, the crew will replace it."

Krikalevand Phillips are in the homestretch of their six-month mission aboard the spacestation. The two astronauts will return to Earth on Oct. 10 after greetingtheir replacements, Expedition 12commander Bill McArthur of NASA and flight engineer Valery Tokarev of theRussian Federal Space Agency, on Oct. 3. Space tourist and scientist Greg Olsenwill ride up to the ISS with the Expedition 12 crew and return to Earth withKrikalev and Phillips.

NASA willbroadcast Progress 19's ISS docking live on NASA TV beginning at 9:30 a.m. EDT(1330 GMT) on Sept. 10.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.