Progress MS-23 freighter docks with International Space Station

Russia’s Progress MS-23 autonomous resupply spacecraft has docked with the International Space Station to deliver supplies and experiments for the Expedition 69 crew.

The spacecraft launched atop a Soyuz rocket at 8:56 a.m. (12:56 UTC) May 24, 2023, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Docking with the space-facing Poisk module occurred just over three hours later at 12:19 p.m. EDT (16:19 UTC) — roughly two orbits after liftoff.

Being delivered is a total of 5,493 pounds (2,492 kilograms) of supplies, which breaks down to 1,080 pounds (490 kilograms) of propellants, 88 pounds (40 kilograms) of nitrogen, 926 pounds (420 kilograms) of water and 3,399 pounds (1,542 kilograms) of dry goods.

These supplies are for the seven-person Expedition 69 crew, which includes Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi.

Also aboard the ISS are the four private Axiom-2 astronauts — Axiom Space astronaut Peggy Whitson, spaceflight participant John Shoffner and Saudi Arabian astronauts Ali AlQarni and Rayyanah Barnawi. The Axiom-2 crew are expected to return to Earth on May 30.

Progress MS-23 is expected to remain attached to the Poisk module until at least November. Before undocking, it’ll be loaded with trash and unneeded equipment, which will burn up with the spacecraft Earth’s atmosphere after a deorbit disposal burn.

A view of Progress MS-23 as it approaches the International Space Station for docking. Credit: NASA

Tagged: Expedition 69 International Space Station Lead Stories Progress MS-23 Roscosmos

Derek Richardson

Derek Richardson has a degree in mass media, with an emphasis in contemporary journalism, from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. While at Washburn, he was the managing editor of the student run newspaper, the Washburn Review. He also has a website about human spaceflight called Orbital Velocity. You can find him on twitter @TheSpaceWriter.