MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. Russia’s Progress MS-12 unmanned resupply spacecraft, which has been part of the International Space Station (ISS) since July 31, will undock from the station on November 29 to be de-orbited on the same day, a rocket and space industry source told TASS on Thursday.
"The undocking of the Progress MS-12 space freighter from the ISS is scheduled to take place at 13:23 Moscow time on November 29," the source said.
On the same day, the spacecraft will be de-orbited and ditched in the non-navigational area of the Pacific Ocean. The exact time of the de-orbiting maneuver is yet unknown.
Russia’s Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Progress MS-12 resupply ship blasted off from the Baikonur space center at 3:10 p.m. Moscow time on July 31. The spacecraft detached from the carrier rocket’s third stage nine minutes after the liftoff in the normal mode and embarked on its autonomous flight to the orbital outpost. It docked with the International Space Station (ISS) after the record short flight of 3 hours and 19 minutes, making two rotations around the earth.
The launch of the next space freighter, Progress MS-13, has earlier been rescheduled from December 6 to December 1. It will be launched atop the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket from Baikonur.