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Mir receives its first cargo On March 19, 1986, the first supply mission headed to the newly launched Mir space station. The Progress-25 cargo ship successfully docked at the outpost two days later on the opposite side from the Soyuz T-15 spacecraft, which ad delivered the station's original crew.
![]() Progress-25 mission at a glance:
The severe mass deficit accumulated before the launch of the Mir's Core Module in February 1986 meant that a great deal of hardware was left to be delivered to the nascent station with subsequent re-supply missions. Just four days after the inaugural expedition boarded the outpost on March 15, the first of two planned Progress vehicles followed the cosmonauts to the station with 2,482 kilograms of cargo, including propellant for the station's engines, food, water and various equipment. In particular, Progress-25 carried the Elbrus flight control computer intended to replace its misbehaving predecessor. According to TASS, the Progress-25 cargo ship lifted off on March 19, 1986, at 13:08 Moscow Time and entered a 268 by 189-kilometer orbit. After two days in autonomous flight, it was reported having automatically docked at the aft port of the Mir's Core Module on March 21, 1986, at 14:16 Moscow Time. Along with the cargo delivery, the ship's propulsion system was used multiple times to boost the station's orbit. The Progress-25 remained at the station for a month, until April 20, 1986, when it was undocked at 23:24 Moscow Time to make the way for the next supply mission. It was deorbited on the same day.
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