At Baikonur, preparation of the Progress MS-16 transport cargo vehicle for launch under the program of the 77th supply mission of the International Space Station continues. In the assembly and testing building of site No. 254 of the cosmodrome, a complex of technological operations was performed to dock the spacecraft with the transition compartment of the third stage of the launch vehicle.
The transfer compartment is a part of the space warhead and provides mechanical connection of the spacecraft with the nose fairing, as well as the integration of the command interface of the Progress MS-16 cargo vehicle into the onboard control system of the carrier. After the completion of the docking work, the check-ups of the onboard radio-technical complex and other service systems of the ship took place.
Launch of the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with the Progress MS-16 cargo vehicle, developed and manufactured by the Energia Rocket and Space Corporation named after S.P. Korolev (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) is scheduled for February 15, 2021 from the site number 31 of the Baikonur cosmodrome. It will deliver to the ISS 600 kg of refueling fuel, 420 liters of drinking water from the Rodnik system and 40.5 kg of compressed gases with additional nitrogen reserves, as well as about 1,400 kg of various equipment and materials.