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ISS Bound Cargo Ship Antenna Fails to Deploy
22 Mar
Summary
- Russian cargo ship launched March 22, 2026, toward the ISS.
- A critical antenna for automatic docking failed to deploy.
- Manual piloting is an option if the antenna cannot be fixed.
On March 22, 2026, Russia launched the uncrewed Progress MS-33 cargo spacecraft towards the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch followed recent repairs to the launch site after an unspecified mishap in late November.
The spacecraft successfully separated from its launch vehicle, carrying over 2.5 tons of cargo. Its docking with the ISS Russian segment is scheduled for March 24, 2026.
NASA reported that one of the vessel's automatic docking antennas failed to deploy post-liftoff. Despite this issue, other systems are operating normally, and troubleshooting is ongoing.
In the event the antenna cannot be deployed, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov is prepared to remotely pilot the spacecraft using a backup system for a safe rendezvous and docking.
