Progress

1978– · Machine / system

The uncrewed freighter that made long station expeditions possible

Background

Progress, a Soyuz stripped of its life support and reworked as an automated freighter, was the innovation that turned space stations from short campouts into long-term homes. First flown to Salyut 6 in 1978, it delivered food, water, fuel, air and equipment, and carried away rubbish to burn up on reentry.

Its automated docking (via the Igla and later Kurs systems) let crews stay for months without a launch to bring every kilogram of supplies by hand. It also delivered the propellant to reboost the stations against atmospheric drag.

A manual test of a Progress docking caused the 1997 collision that punctured Mir's Spektr module, a reminder that even the humble freighter carried risk. It still flies today, resupplying the International Space Station.

Key facts

Type Cargo resupply spacecraft

Crewed? No (automated cargo)

First flight 1978

Mass ~7,000 kg

Payload ~2,300 kg cargo/fuel

Operator NPO Energia / RKK Energia

Based on Soyuz

Fate Still flying

Where the sources are

This object is named in 1 verified source entry across 1 dossier of this book. The entries sit with the people who built or used it, which is where the research recorded them.

Viktor Savinykh (1 source)

All sources

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