Expedition 70 Progress 87 Cargo Ship Launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome - Feb. 14, 2024

The uncrewed Roscosmos ISS Progress 87 cargo spacecraft launched to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Feb. 14 on a Soyuz booster rocket. Progress is filled with almost three tons of supplies and cargo and will dock to the Zvezda service module on Saturday, Feb. 17. Join NASA as we go forward to the Moon and on to Mars -- discover the latest on Earth, the Solar System and beyond with a weekly update in your inbox. Subscribe at: https://www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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Good evening from the johnson space center and mission control as you look live at launchpad 6 site 31 at the baikonur cosmodrome in kazakhstan where uncrewed progress resupply ship atop the 1a booster stands fully fueled ready to lift off just 24. 5 minutes from now to deliver 2. 7 tons of food, fuel and supplies for the expedition 70 crew aboard the international space station. Several hours ago, the roscosmos state commission met and gave approval to fuel, the soyuz 2. 1a booster.

It is again fully fueled. It is ten minutes after sunrise in the central asian desert at the launch site where it is 28degrees fahrenheit over overcast skies the soyuz scheduled to lift off at 5:06 p. m. Central time which is 8:25a. m.

Baikonur time on thursday morning. The soyuz rocket was rolled out to the launchpad on monday morning, the hangar not far from the launchpad itself at site 31 at the baikonur cosmodrome that was hydraulically lifted to the vertical position where fuel and electrical lines were hooked up as the technicians made final preparations for the liftoff this evening to send the progress on automated 34 on orbit, two-day journey to the aft port of the zvezda service module that will occur in the wee hours of saturday morning at 12:12a. m. Central time. 1:16a.

m. Eastern time. The progress, as I said, is equipped and stowed aboard with 2. 7-tons of fuel and supplies as well as food for the crewmembers aboard the international space station. The breakdown is 5551pounds of cargo, that is represented by 3258pounds of dry cargo, 1209pounds of fuel, 926pounds of water, and 88pounds of nitrogen.

Again, 2. 7 tons of supplies, food and fuel about to be delivered to the crew onboard the international space station. That crew, the expedition 70 crew is asleep at this hour. They are due to be awakened for the workday about three hors from now. And they will be informed of the results of tonight's launch, once they are awakened and move into the daily planning conference.

The expedition 70 crew is led by andy mogensen of the european space agency, esa, is joined onboard from left to right by nikolai chub, konstatin borisov, oleg kononenko and nasa astronaut jasmin moghbeli along with borisov and satoshi and loral o'hara, who launched back in september aboard a soyuz rocket from the same launchpad at that the progress will be talking off from just 21. 5 minutes from now. Waiting in the wings to launch to the international space station is the crew 8 crew. They are from left to right alexander matthew dominick, michael barratt, jeanette epps, alexander grebenkin by the launch of spacex by a falcon 9 rocket that is scheduled to lift off at 1:05a. m.

12:05a. m. Central time atop of the falcon 9 rocket to bring the machines launch that will be the lunar lander the sea that intuitive machines hopes to send on the way for the landing on the south pole of the moon on february22nd. That launch countdown is proceeding at the kennedy space center, on launchpad 39a, that launch will determine when the crew 8 launch will be lifting off for its rendezvous with the international space station. The launch events and the countdown events that will follow here in the next 20 minutes or so will result in the vehicle going on internal power, a short time from now.

At t minus 35-second mark to the countdown. One of two umbilicals you see up against the side of the soyuz booster will retract, and then at about the t minus 15-second mark the second umbilical will roetract to initiate the launch sequencing command that will start with engine condition. The turbo pumps will come up to flight speed and the holddown arms will retract. We will have liftoff of the progress 87 cargo craft on route to the international space station. The ride to orbit on the three-stage soyuz rocket will take 8:45 to complete.

The first stage scheduled to separate at the 1:58 second mark after launch followed by the 6:03 by the jettisoning of the shroud, the clamshell shroud that envelopes the progress resupply craft itself. At the 4:37 mark into the flight, the second stage engine will shutdown after about 2. 5 minutes of operation. And the second stage will separate justs a few seconds later. Then, the third stage engine will operate for about 4 minutes.

There will be a squirt separation, that is a skirt that envelopes the engine area of the third stage of the soyuz booster. The third stage will shutdown at 8:45 after launch. The spacecraft separation will follow just seconds later and then within seconds after that, we will see the solar arrays and navigational antennas on the progress resupply craft deploy and progress will be on its way. Over the next two days, there will be a series of rendezvous burns to raise the altitude of the progress vehicle to match that of the international space station before we move into terminal rendezvous operations, late friday night early saturday morning resulting in that automated docking to the aft port of the zvezda, the service module at 12:12a. m.

Central time saturday morning. 1:12a. m. Eastern time. The venting that you see there on the soyuz booster is a combination of the burn-off of liquid oxygen.

The first operating on liquid oxygen and kerosene for the liquid fuel strap on boosters that contribute to the thruster for the first stage of the progress. It is what the international space station flies on 20 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The soyuz booster now on autonomous power. Hearing calls throughout the final minutes of this countdown to the block house at baikonur. About 3:35 before launch, one of the launch conductors will use a key to turn that key into the drainage position, and the valves through which evaporated gas oxygen escapes from the fuel tank has to the atmosphere.

That will appear as white vapor escaping the rocket, as the valves are closed beginning to drain fuel back into the tanks to make sure that they are at the proper level for pressurization of those tanks. The pressurization of the first stage tanks will occur at about the t minus 2:45 mark. And we'll go to the terminal phase that will send the progress on the way. All the progress rendezvous burns and the functions will be automatically controlled by the onboard computers including the final rendezvous sequence that will be controlled by the corpse automated rendezvous system aboard the progress. A similar system exists on the russian segment of the international space station.

Basically sending radio signals back and forth to update the progress on the rate of closure for its docking to the aft port of the zvezda service module and the rate of closure. Late friday night, as the progress approaches the international space station, the crew will be awake aboard the station and in the service module itself, russian cosmonauts oleg kononenko and nikolai chub will be monitoring the approach of the progress. They will be at a work station that has a joystick basically that is called the telerobotically rendezvous system, that they would take over control of and operate the manual flying of the progress in for a docking in the highly unlikely event there would be a failure or some other problem with the automated rendezvous system. Now t minus 14 minutes and counting. No issues being reported the block house at baikonur.

The international space station is currently flying 260miles above the south atlantic moving from southwest to northeast about to cross the west coast of africa. We are coming up on the t minus 16-minute mark. All of the key events about to unfold in the final phase of the countdown, that will result in the liftoff of the progress, again, liftoff time 9:25:06 p. m. Central time.

Which is 8:25:06 baikonur time at the launch site. 8:25:00 a little over a month from now, on that same launchpad, the soyuz ms-25 spacecraft will be launched with soyuz commander oleg novitskiy, tracy dyson and belarus spaceflight participant onboard. Novitskiy will spend a little less than two weeks aboard the station and will come home on april second along with loral o'hara. A good view of the three-stage booster on launchpad 6 site 31 of the boikonur cosmodrome. Again, it is overcast.

We are likely to lose the view of the rocket pretty quickly after launch. Hopefully we will be getting a view from the upper stage camera on the soyuz as it makes its way toward orbit again. 8:45 from launch to orbital insertion. Followed seconds later by spacecraft separation then the deployment of the solar arrays and the navigational antennas. We are hearing there is a readiness poll at the boikonur blockhouse.

Everything continues to move smoothly as we are inside ten minutes until liftoff. And another view provided by roscosmos through the communications group down in boikonur showing the soyuz booster on its launchpad at site 31. This is the primary pad from which both soyuz crewed missions as well as progress uncrewed missions are launched from. T minus 8:45 counting a minute and 45 seconds from now the launch conductor will rotate a key that will initiate all of the final sequencing basically a ground launch sequencer that you would be familiar with during space shuttle days. All the vehicle functions will be automatically commanded at that point.

T minus 8 minutes and counting all the launch preparations have gone smoothly as mentioned earlier. The vehicle rolled out to this launchpad on monday morning with technicians completed all the final preparations and earlier today, several hours ago, the state commission met and gave approval to begin fueling the three-stage soyuz booster. This view now from a balcony camera in the mission control center outside of moscow, showing the flight controllers, who will be talking over control of the flight of the progress at spacecraft separation. T minus 7 minutes and counting the automated launch ground sequester is now in control of soyuz booster functions. Coming up on the t minus 6 minute mark, the range is clear at baikonur, no issues being reported.

About a minute or so from now, engineers at the blockhouse in baikonur will accurate the recorders on which telemetry from the launch vehicle is recorded. For later analysis. Within the upper stage of the soyuz booster is the progress itself loaded with 2. 7 tons of food, fuel and supplies for the expedition 70 crew. T minus 4:40 and counting.

That end mas the fuel lines are purged with nitrogen, that fireproofs them boy removing vapors of fuel and oxidizer. By removing vapors of fuel and oxidize. T minus 4 minutes and counting. The international space station approaching the west coast of africa. Again moving from southwest to northeast at liftoff the progress will begin its journey to catch up to the station for its automated docking to the aft port of the zvezda service module in the wee hours of saturday.

Again you see two umbilicals, this oxidizer and the fuel valves we are hearing are now closed as planned. We should be hearing the call for pressurization of fuel and oxidizer tanks momentarily. That white vapor that you see at the base of the launchpad is additional or extra fuel being purged from the rocket, so it is at the correct weight, the but correct amount of fuel for the three-stage trip to orbit. Those two umbilicals the first will retrack t minus 35 and the second at t minus 17 seconds to initiate the engine sequence start. Coming up on t minus two minutes.

Coming up on t minus 90 seconds. Mark, t minus 90 seconds and counting. Everything in order. Countdown proceeding normally. We are now at t minus one minute and counting.

This vehicle is now on eternal power and there is retraction of the first umbilical. Ground support feeds now terminated to the vehicle. The auto sequence initiated. The second umbilical is retracting. The launch command is now being for the engine ignition.

We have engine start. The engines coming up to flight and pumps at flight speed and liftoff. All engines and maximum thrust we have liftoff to the international space station. The vehicle has cleared the tower roll and pitch program initiated. All perimeters are nominal for first stage performance, all engines on the first stage are performing nominally according to the block house in baikonur.

Structural perimeters are all reported to be normal. 42 seconds into the flight. The guns performing normally. Structural perimeters all normal. Engines pressures are nominal at the one minute mark into the flight.

We are less than a minute away from first stage separation. We are less than a minute away. Good pitch and roll program for the vehicle. Arcing out to the northeast. Its chase to reach the international space station station underway.

One minute 45 into the flight. Standing by for first stage separation. First stage separation confirmed and the launch route will be coming up for the separation enveloping the progress craft a short time from now. Two and a half minutes into the flight. This is animation of the front screen on the russian control center in korolyov outside of moscow.

You can see the plot on the front board at the control center at the coming up on the three minute mark everything continuing extremely normal with all the vehicle functions good pitch and roll program. Good engine performance now on the second stage. We have jettison. The second stage shutdown will come at the 4:37 nook the flight about a minute from now. About five minutes and ten seconds of powered flight remaining.

This view from the television calm are on the upper stage of the soyuz as we are 4:15 into flight standing by for second stage shutdown about 15 seconds from now. All the booster structures are showing normal perimeters good engine performance standing by for second stage. There is the third stage skirt separation. Second stage separation is confirmed. The progress now being raised into the final stage of assent by the singular power of the third stage engine on the soyuz .

1 a booster. Five and a half minutes into the flight about 3:15 of powered flight remaining. The stage three engine is running normally according to the reports are the block house in bow co nur. Launch time was confirmed at 9:25:06 p. m.

Central time. 8:25 baikonur time on thursday morning. 6 minutes into the flight. 2:45 of powered flight remaining. All the booster structures are reported to be very stable.

Everything is proceeding normally on the uphill climb to deliver the uncrewed progress 87 resupply craft to the preliminary orbit. Two minutes of powered flight remaining. 7:10 into the flight. Good pitch and roll program for the soyuz booster operating normally on the power of its third stage engine. About a minute and a half of powered flight remaining.

Again this view from the calm are on the upper stage of the soyuz booster that lifted off a short time ago from the baikonur cosmodrome in kazakhstan beginning a two-day journey for the uncrewed progress resupply craft to reach the international space station. Third stage engine continues to perform normally at the eight minute mark into the flight. 8:15 into the flight about 30 seconds of powered flight left. We are standing by for the third stage shutdown and the spacecraft separation just a few seconds from now. Third stage confirmed and spacecraft separation.

We should see the solar arrays begin to unfurl momentarily. There they go. The confirmation has been received of a normal solar array deploy as well as the navigational antennas? Amount of flawless assent are the launchpad to the preliminary orbit for the progress resupply craft. 8:45 in launch to orbital insertion.

Everything went by the book. This view now from the external television camera on the progress vehicle with the data overlay, that you should be familiar with at this point. As the initial systems of the progress are beak tested by the flight controllers at the russian mission control center in korolyov outside of moscow. In the next few hours there will be two delta velocity burns, that will begin the stair step increase and altitude for the progress vehicle, as it begins its trek to match the altitude of the international space station, setting up the start on friday night of the automated rendezvous sequence that will result in automated dock ocean to the aft port of the zvezda service module on saturday morning at 12:12a. m.

Central time. 1:12a. m. Eastern time. All the progress systems are being checked out and reported to be in good configuration as the progress begins the chase to reach the international space station in the early morning hours on saturday.

With this progress now safely in orbit beginning the two-day journey to reach the international space station. We can take different view of the launch as provided by roscosmos down at the baikonur cosmodrome. This was the replay engine start. Liftoff from launchpad cameras at cosmos has available to it. Roscosmos has available to it.

And liftoff adds the soyuz booster cleared the tower arced out to the northeast to begin an8:45 journey to the point of third stage separation. And the delivery of the progress vehicle with . 7 tons of food, fuel and supplies for the crew onboard the international space station. And back the view from the external calm are on the progress as it begins to flex its muscles and beak checked out by the russian flight controllers in korolyov outside of moscow. With that, we will wrap up our coverage with the quick tease for the rendezvous and docking coverage that will be coming up friday night.

We will be on the air friday evening at 11:30p. m. Central time early saturday morning february17th at 12:30a. m. Eastern time with rendezvous and docking the docking could take place by the progress 87 cargo craft to the aft port of the zvezda service module.

Docking schedule at 12:12a. m. Central time. 1:12a. m.

eastern time. Until then, we will see you back here at the johnson space center as you take a final look from the balcony calm are at the russian mission control center half world away in korolyov outside of moscow. For now we bid you a good evening.

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