LIVE: Progress cargo craft launches to the International Space Station | REUTERS

Progress 87 Cargo Spacecraft Launch

• The Progress 87 cargo spacecraft launched on February 25th, 2023, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying 2.7 tons of supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
• The Expedition 70 crew will be informed of the launch results and incorporate the new supplies into their daily planning.
• The Crew 8 crew's launch date depends on the results of the Progress 87 launch.
• The Progress 87 spacecraft will undergo rendezvous burns to match its altitude with the ISS before docking to the aft port of the Zvezda service module on February 25th, 2023, at 12:12 a.m. Central Time (1:12 a.m. Eastern Time).
• In case of an automated rendezvous system failure, Russian cosmonauts Al kenko and Nikolai chub will manually control the docking process using the TORU system.

Soyuz MS-25 Spacecraft Launch

• The Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft, with Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitsky, NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, and Russian spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya, is scheduled to launch from the same launchpad as Progress 87 in a little over a month.
• The State Commission approved fueling the Soyuz booster for the launch of the Progress 87 resupply vehicle to the ISS.
• The launch took place from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday morning at 9:25:06 p.m. Central Time (8:25:06 a.m. Baikonur time).
• The Soyuz 2.1a booster successfully lifted off, cleared the tower, and initiated the roll and pitch program.
• All parameters were nominal for the first stage performance, and the engines performed nominally.
• The launch shroud was jettisoned at the 4 minute 37 second mark into the flight.
• The second stage shutdown occurred at the 5 minute 10 second mark, followed by the separation of the third stage skirt.
• The third stage engine continued to perform normally, raising the Progress into its final stage of ascent.
• The third stage shutdown and spacecraft separation occurred at the 8 minute 45 second mark, and the solar arrays and navigational antennas successfully deployed.
• The Progress is now safely in orbit and will begin its two-day journey to the ISS, with two Delta velocity burns planned to increase its altitude and match that of the ISS.
• The automated rendezvous sequence will begin on Friday night, leading to an automated docking to the aft port of the Zvezda service module on Saturday morning at 12:12 a.m. Central Time (1:12 a.m. Eastern Time).