Russian Progress 96 cargo ship docks at space station with about three tons of supplies

An uncrewed Russian Progress cargo spacecraft docked to the International Space Station on September 19, 2026, delivering about three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the Expedition 75 crew, NASA said.

Launch and docking

The spacecraft, which NASA calls Progress 96, launched at 9:33 a.m. EDT on September 16 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Spaceflight Now reported that its Russian designation is Progress MS-35 and that it flew on a Soyuz-2-1b rocket, the first time that version of the rocket was used for a Progress mission. The launch had been delayed by one week because of an undisclosed technical issue with the rocket's third stage, Spaceflight Now reported.

The cargo ship docked to the space-facing port of the station's Poisk module at 9:44 a.m. EDT on Saturday, September 19, according to NASA. Spaceflight Now reported that the docking took place while the station was about 260 miles above the Black Sea.

A three-day trip

Progress 96 took three days and 49 orbits to reach the station. NASA commentator Rob Navias explained the choice during the docking coverage, as quoted by Spaceflight Now: "Uncommon but not unprecedented. The orbital mechanics for this particular launch date of September 16th drove the Progress to a three-day, 49-orbit rendezvous profile."

Who is on board the station

Seven people were living on the station when the cargo ship arrived, according to Spaceflight Now: Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov, Anna Kikina and Andrey Fedyaev; NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Anil Menon and Jack Hathaway; and European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot.

What happens next

NASA says Progress 96 will remain attached to the station for about five months. After that, it will undock and make a planned destructive re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, carrying away trash from the station.

Why it matters

Regular cargo deliveries keep the space station supplied with the food, fuel and equipment its crews need. Russian Progress vehicles are part of that supply chain, and they also help remove waste at the end of their missions. The arrival of Progress 96 came as the station prepared for a crew change, with NASA and SpaceX's Crew-13 mission scheduled to launch on October 1.

Sources

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