MOSCOW, December 3. /TASS/. Russia’s Progress MS-25 space freighter, launched from the Baikonur space center on Friday, will dock with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, delivering tangerines, new Year Presents for the crew and other cargo.
The docking with the Poisk module is scheduled for 14:15 Moscow time. The space freighter is expected to remain docked with the ISS for slightly less than six months.
The blastoff took place at 12:25 p.m. Moscow time on Friday. It was the fourth Progress-MS space launch this year.
The Progress MS-25 resupply ship will deliver 2,528 kg of cargo to the orbital outpost, in particular, 515 kg of refueling propellant, 420 liters of potable water, 40 kg of compressed nitrogen in cylinders and about 1,553 kg of various equipment and materials in the cargo hold, among them medical and hygienic items and outfits.
The rocket is decorated with depictions devoted to the 35th anniversary of the flight by a Buran reusable space shuttle and the centenary of the birth of First Head of the USSR Defense Ministry’s Main Space Systems Department Alexander Maksimov, the decade of science and technology and the Games of the Future tournament.
The space freighter will also bring a trophy of the Games of the Future tournament to the orbital outpost. The trophy will return to Earth in 2024 and will be presented at the tournament. The space freighter will also deliver food for Russian cosmonauts, in particular, mandarins, which the Research Institute of Food Concentrate Industry and Special Food Technology earlier told TASS about.
The ISS crew psychological support service also told TASS earlier that the Progress MS-25 resupply ship would deliver New Year gifts to the space station prepared by the crewmembers’ relatives and friends. There are also dragon keychains inside gift bags.