Russian cargo ship delivers early Halloween treats to International Space Station

News
By Tariq Malik
published

The uncrewed Progress 79 ship hauled over 5,600 pounds of supplies to the station.

An uncrewed Russian cargo ship linked up with the International Space Station late Friday (Oct. 29) to deliver nearly 3 tons of supplies and some treats just ahead of Halloween. 

The supply ship, called Progress 79, docked at the space station Friday two days after launching into orbit from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The two ships met at 9:31 p.m. EDT (131 Oct. 30 GMT) as they sailed 258 miles over Argentina, just south of Buenos Aires. 

"It doesn't get much smoother than that," NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said of the docking during live commentary. "A flawless ride from the launch pad at Baikonur to docking at the International Space Station."

Related: How Russia's Progress cargo ships work (infographic)

The uncrewed Progress 79 cargo ship approaches the International Space Station's Zvezda service module during docking operations in orbit on Oct. 29, 2021. (Image credit: NASA TV)

Navias said that Progress cargo ship is carrying 5,623 pounds (2,550 kilograms) of supplies for the seven Expedition 66 crewmembers currently living on the International Space Station. That load likely includes some tasty treats, like fruit and vegetables, since fresh food is typically part of every Progress cargo ship delivery.

Progress 79's cargo includes 3,351 pounds (1,520 kg) of dry goods, 1,212 pounds (550 kg) of rocket propellant, 926 pounds (420 kg) of water, 106 pounds (48 kg) of air and 28 pounds (13 kg) of nitrogen, according to Navias.

The arrival of Progress 79 comes during a busy weekend for the space station crew. 

On Sunday (Oct. 31), the commercial company SpaceX will launch four astronauts to the station on the Crew-3 mission for NASA. Liftoff is set for 2:21 a.m. EDT (0621 GMT) from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. 

SpaceX's Crew-3 mission will launch NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer to the space station to begin a six-month expedition.

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Tariq Malik
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.