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Progress MS-16 spacecraft attached to the ISS

February 17, 2021

In accordance with the mission plan of the International Space Station, the docking of Progress MS-16, which had been launched from Baikonur on February 15, was completed on February 17, 2021 at 09:26:47 Moscow Time. The docking operations were conducted by the ISS crew under the direction of specialists of the Lead Operations Control Team.

The resupply spacecraft has delivered to the ISS more than 2.5 tons of various cargoes that are required to maintain the ISS mission in manned mode and carry out the program of scientific and applied research in orbit. These cargoes include: 600 kg of resupply propellants, 420 liters of potable water for Rodnik system and 40.5 kg of compressed gases with additional supply of nitrogen, as well as 1400 kg of miscellaneous hardware and materials, including limited-life items for onboard control and life support systems, repairs kit, kits for conducting space experiments under the Russian program, medical monitoring and hygiene support equipment, clothing items and food rations.

Within the framework of the Russian program of scientific and applied research, the spacecraft carries payloads for the following scientific experiments.

• Neurolab kits are intended for conducting a series of experiments Pilot-T to study the effects of spaceflight environment on the quality of professional activities of the crew— 3.3 kg;
• Materials for the Asceptic experiment will aid in developing means of providing sterile environments for biological experiments — 1.2 kg;
• The Photobioreactor instrument will be used for studying the feasibility of producing food and oxygen from algae — 5.1 kg;
• Kaskad facility will serve as a lab for developing efficient methods of biotechnological production of cell cultures in microgravity — 5.9 kg;
• Biodegradation samplers will support monitoring of germ content in the station atmosphere to study their effect on structural materials in space — 0.2 kg.

After completing all the necessary leakage tests of the interface, the ISS-64 commander, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Ryzhikov and ISS-64 flight engineer, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Kud-Sverchkov will open transfer hatches and complete the final operations to dismantle the docking mechanism, switch the Progress power supply system to the joint power supply, and put the logistics spacecraft into the long-storage mode.

Currently staying onboard the ISS beside Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov are NASA astronauts Kathleen Rubins, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and a representative of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Soichi Noguchi.