At the Baikonur cosmodrome, specialists from the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation named after S.P. Koroleva (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) continue the planned preparation of the Progress MS-16 transport cargo vehicle for launch under the program of the 77th supply mission of the International Space Station.
After the completion of the refueling operations, the ship was installed in the dynamic stand of the assembly and test building of site No. 254 to carry out the final works on pre-flight preparation and stowage of fresh food and onboard documentation in the cargo hold.
The Progress MS-16 spacecraft is to deliver to the ISS 600 kg of refueling fuel, 420 liters of Rodnik drinking water and 40.5 kg of compressed gases with additional nitrogen reserves, as well as about 1,400 kg of various equipment and materials, including resource equipment for onboard control and life support systems, packing for space experiments, medical control and sanitary and hygienic supplies, clothing items, standard food rations and fresh food for the crew members of the active expedition. In addition, the cargo hold contains a repair kit consisting of a set of reinforcing pads with an adhesive bond designed to temporarily seal the detected defects in the housing of the transition chamber of the Zvezda service module of the ISS Russian Segment.
The launch of the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Progress MS-16 cargo vehicle is scheduled for February 2021 from the launch complex of site No. 31 of the Baikonur cosmodrome.