Today, in the assembly and test building of the 31st site of the Baikonur cosmodrome, specialists from the State Corporation Roscosmos conducted a general assembly of the Soyuz-2.1a space rocket with the Progress MS-26 cargo ship.
After that, the state commission allowed on February 12 to take out and install the rocket at the launch complex of the 31st site.
The launch of the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle with the Progress MS-26 cargo ship is scheduled for February 15 at 06:25:06 Moscow time.
The Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle was manufactured by the Progress Rocket and Space Center, the Progress MS-26 spacecraft was manufactured by S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (part of Roscosmos).
Progress MS-26 will deliver 2,518 kg of cargo to the International Space Station, including 1,478 kg of equipment and equipment for station systems, stowage for scientific experiments, clothing, food, medical and sanitary products for the crews of the 70th and 71st long-term expeditions, 580 kg fuel for refueling the station, 420 kg of drinking water and 40 kg of nitrogen.
Among the cargoes are consumables for the new Fullerene scientific experiment on growing fullerite crystals, the third crystalline form of carbon, representing a new class of semiconductors, in the multi-zone electric vacuum furnace MEP—01 in the multipurpose laboratory module Nauka.
For the new scientific experiment Perspektiva-KM, a transformable space structure made of polymer composite materials with a shape memory effect will be sent on the ship. The astronauts will install the structure on the small research module “Poisk” during a future spacewalk for its deployment and testing.
The Progress MS-26 will also fly equipment for the new scientific experiment Orbita-MG in order to develop technologies for non-destructive testing of the technical condition of sealed shells of manned space objects of long-term operation.
