Russian Progress 96 Cargo Ship Docks at ISS with 3 Tons of Supplies

Russian automated cargo spacecraft Progress 96 successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) today. The vehicle launched aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan last Wednesday, initiating a three-day orbital rendezvous maneuver to reach the station.

Docking details and orbital position

The docking occurred at the space-facing port of the station’s Poisk module. At the moment of contact, both the Progress 96 spacecraft and the ISS were flying at an altitude of 260 miles—equivalent to 418 kilometers—above the Black Sea.

Supply payload and crew composition

Progress 96 carried approximately three tons of cargo, including food, propellant, and other essential supplies for the ISS crew. The current crew consists of seven members: NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir, and Anil Menon; European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot; and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov, Andrei Fedyaev, and Anna Kikina.

Duration of attachment and disposal protocol

The spacecraft will remain docked to the ISS for approximately five months. After that period, it will be loaded with station waste and deliberately deorbited to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. This disposal method represents the standard operational conclusion for most ISS resupply vehicles—including all Progress spacecraft, Japan’s HTV-X developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft.

Reusable exception in current fleet

The only reusable cargo vehicle currently operating in the ISS resupply fleet is SpaceX’s Dragon capsule.