Russian spacecraft relocates to another port at space station

The maneuver has positioned the uncrewed Progress 78 spacecraft to conduct leak checks of the Nauka module's propellent lines before they are used with the new module's thrusters for orientation control of the station.

The Russian Progress 78 resupply ship today relocated to another port at the International Space Station after performing an automated undocking from the station's Poisk module on Wednesday night. According to NASA, the spacecraft automatically redocked to the station's Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module at 12:21 am ET.

Contact and capture confirmed! The @roscosmos Progress 78 cargo craft redocked to station at 12:21am ET as Progress and the station flew 258 miles over the south Pacific. https://t.co/cBNqC5JGaz pic.twitter.com/XoQLUVRftx

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) October 22, 2021

The maneuver has positioned the uncrewed spacecraft to conduct leak checks of the Nauka module's propellent lines before they are used with the new module's thrusters for orientation control of the station.

Progress 78 was launched on June 30, 2021, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and docked to the station's Poisk module on the space-facing side of the Russian segment on July 1, 2021. The spaceship carried more than 3,600 pounds of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 65 crew.

The Russian spacecraft will depart from the space station in late November for a re-entry into Earth's atmosphere that results in its safe destruction.

Another Russian cargo spacecraft carrying almost three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the station crew, is scheduled for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on October 27. The Progress 79 resupply ship will dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module on October 29.