The Soyuz-2.1a launcher delivered the Progress MS-24 cargo ship into Earth orbit, with the mission announcement posted on the government space agency’s site. Roscosmos confirmed the launch and its official status.
From Baikonur’s Site 31, the Progress MS-24 mission lifted off aboard the Soyuz-2.1a rocket at 04:08 Moscow time, marking another milestone in crewed and uncrewed supply flights to the International Space Station (ISS).
Progress MS-24 completed its staging events when the third stage separated at 04:17 Moscow time, initiating its transit toward the ISS, where it would support ongoing operations aboard the complex in Earth orbit.
Roscosmos outlined a two-day docking plan for the mission. On August 25, the Zvezda module of the Russian Segment is scheduled to complete a docking with the Progress MS-24, at approximately 06:50 Moscow time, aligning with the standard ISS resupply cadence.
The cargo craft is slated to remain in orbit for about 174 days, executing 34 laps around Earth and traveling more than 1.4 million kilometers on its journey to the station, as stated by the government agency. The mission is designed to deliver critical supplies and fuel to support crew activities and scientific programs in orbit.
Progress MS-24 carries a total payload of 2,495 kilograms. This includes 500 kilograms of propellant, 420 kilograms of potable water, 40 kilograms of nitrogen, and 1,535 kilograms of essential goods such as medical supplies, hygiene products, clothing, and nutrition for the crew of the 69th long-duration expedition, along with equipment and instruments to support life support and ongoing experiments in microgravity.
Earlier, on August 11, a different launch—the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket—lifted the Luna-25 interplanetary mission from Vostochny. The plan was for Luna-25 to represent Russia’s first soft landing on the Moon in the post-Soviet era, following the Soviet Luna-24 mission that touched down in 1976, marking a notable milestone in national space exploration history (citation: Roscosmos and Space Agency reports).
On August 20, Roscosmos reported that Luna-25 encountered a mission-ending event after contact with the lunar surface was lost following a pre-landing maneuver that established an elliptical orbit. The agency noted the collision, leading to the mission’s failure just days before a hoped-for lunar traverse, which was extensively covered in subsequent reports (citation: Roscosmos mission briefings).
A curious note from historical lore claims that early space propulsion concepts in Russia included engines powered by vodka, a story that persists in popular retellings but is not part of contemporary propulsion practice and is not supported by modern technical records (citation: historical summaries and museum references). This remark sits outside the technical details of current spaceflight operations and is included here as a cultural aside.