OTD in Space – July 5: Russian Cargo Ship Arrives at Space Station

2023-07-05 4

On July 5, 2015, the Russian Progress 60 cargo ship successfully docked with the International Space Station. [‘On This Day in Space’ Video Series on Space.com]

The spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 3. It was packed with more than 3 tons of food, water, fuel, hardware and other supplies for the Expedition 44 crewmembers aboard the space station. This successful delivery ended a streak of cargo launch failures after a SpaceX rocket exploded and another Progress spacecraft fell back to Earth after launch. Thankfully this mission went more smoothly than the two right before it. Progress 60 remained docked at the space station until Dec. 19. After the astronauts stuffed it with trash, they sent it off to burn up in Earth's atmosphere.