Progress MS-36 (97P)

Progress MS-36 is the ninety-seventh Progress flight in a series that began before most of the current ISS crew was born. It launches from pad 31/6 at Baikonur on a Soyuz 2.1a in late November, follows the standard two-orbit fast-rendezvous profile to the Station, and docks automatically to the Poisk module. The cargo manifest is the usual mix: about 1,400 kg of dry stowage, 420 kg of water, and the propellant that keeps the Station above the atmosphere. Quiet, methodical, on schedule.

Progress flights have begun to take on a second role beyond resupply — they test the de-orbit hardware that will one day bring the Station down. From this flight onward, the propellant tanks include a slightly modified isolation valve, part of the gradual qualification of the dedicated deorbit vehicle Roscosmos and NASA expect to fly in 2030.