An unpiloted Progress 96 resupply spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 12:15 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, September 9, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz rocket. The spacecraft, operated by Roscosmos, is carrying about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the crew aboard the International Space Station. NASA will begin live coverage of the launch at 12 p.m. EDT.
After a two-day journey, Progress 96 will dock autonomously to the Poisk module on Friday, September 11, at 2:37 p.m. EDT. NASA's coverage of the arrival will begin at 1:45 p.m. EDT.
The spacecraft will remain attached to the orbiting laboratory for approximately five months before undocking and re-entering Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. Before Progress 96 arrives, the Progress 94 spacecraft will undock on Monday, September 7, at approximately 11:18 a.m. EDT for its own planned destructive re-entry.
NASA will stream both the launch and docking through multiple online platforms. The International Space Station has been continuously inhabited for more than 25 years.
