Russia’s Pirs Docking Compartment Departs ISS After 20 Years Of Service
The unpiloted Russian Progress 77 cargo spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station while attached to the Pirs docking compartment at 6:55 a.m. EDT.
The spacecraft will reenter Earth’s atmosphere and harmlessly burn up over the south Pacific. The mission launched and docked to the space station in February delivering more than a ton of cargo to the Expedition 65 crew. Deorbit and re-entry will not be covered on NASA TV.
With the port on the Earth-facing side of the Russian segment station vacated by the departure of Pirs and Progress, Russia’s Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) is scheduled to dock at the station Thursday, July 29. Named Nauka, after the Russian word for “science,” MLM launched on July 21 and will serve as a new science facility, docking port, and spacewalk airlock for future operations.
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A small video to your news feed: undocking of the #Pirs module from the International @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/CLnaQT1oeA
— Oleg Novitskiy (@novitskiy_iss) July 26, 2021
Goodbye #Pirs!
Thank you for the 20 years of work as part of the Russian segment of the @Space_Station. During its operation, the module was used as a docking compartment for the Soyuz and Progress spacecraft, as well as for spacewalks from the Russian segment of the station. pic.twitter.com/EveJBNyZpI
— Oleg Novitskiy (@novitskiy_iss) July 26, 2021
