A few hours ago, the Progress MS-19 spacecraft blasted off atop a Soyuz-2.1a rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After about nine minutes it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and was placed on its route. The cargo spacecraft began its resupply mission to the International Space Station also called Progress 80 or 80P. In this mission, the route used is the one that requires about two days.

The Progress MS-19 cargo spacecraft is carrying a total of about 2,500 kilograms (almost 5,600 lbs) of various types of supply including food, water, air, oxygen, propellant, and more such as a series of products for the International Space Station crew, various science experiments, tools, and various hardware. Some CubeSat-class nanosatellites will be deployed by Russian cosmonauts aboard the Station.

Since 2018, the Russian Progress space freighters have often been launched on an ultra-fast track for a journey that lasts just over three hours covering just 2 orbits. It requires a very precise series of maneuvers and above all the adjustment of the International Space Station’s orbit. That’s done particularly on the occasion of astronaut launches to minimize the time they spend in space. In space freighters’ case, a much longer journey is not a problem. Consequently, the Russian space agency Roscosmos opted for the use of the “classic” route which requires two days of travel for the Progress MS-19 cargo spacecraft’s mission in which it covers 34 orbits.

The Progress MS-19 cargo spacecraft is scheduled to reach the International Space Station on Thursday, around 07.06 UTC. The Progress has an automated docking system, so it will reach the Poisk module on its own. The Progress MS-19 is scheduled to remain docked with the Station for more than one year. The Station’s Russian section was expanded during 2021 and that also increased the number of docking options for the national Progress and Soyuz spacecraft but the old modules continue to be used for this purpose as well.