Astronauts aboard the International Space Station got a front-row seat to some rare atmospheric “fireworks.”
On Wednesday (Nov. 29), the Russian Progress MS-23 cargo spacecraft departed from the International Space Station (ISS) with a load of refuse now not needed on the orbital outpost. Specifically, the spacecraft was carrying “old equipment and household waste, or the whole lot the experts have decided to toss from the station,” Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko told Russian media outlet TASS.
Just 4 hours after Progress MS-23 undocked, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli was in a position to locate the reentering spacecraft and photograph it because it burned up in Earth’s atmosphere, resulting in some incredible photographs taken from aboard the ISS.
“It happened faster than I assumed and was only visible for about 2-3 minutes. It jogged my memory a little bit of fireworks, especially when it broke apart,” Moghbeli wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday. “Because of those on the bottom who helped direct me in where to look!”
Related: Russian cargo spacecraft ends mission with fiery return to Earth
A lot of the spacecraft and its contents were incinerated high above Earth, but a few of the material made its way down into the Pacific Ocean, Russian space agency Roscosmos reported on Wednesday.
Such fiery reentries are standard practice for non-reusable cargo craft departing the ISS. Two of the three spacecraft currently used for freight deliveries, the Russian Progress capsule, and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus vehicle, are routinely disposed of within the atmosphere once they’ve delivered their supplies and room on the station’s docking ports is required for a brand new cargo delivery.
The third spacecraft currently in use for these cargo runs, SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, is in a position to return home for secure splashdowns and future reuse, nonetheless.
One other Progress spacecraft is ready to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:25 a.m. EST (0925 GMT) on Friday, Dec. 1, carrying three tons of food, fuel and other supplies for the astronauts and cosmonauts currently aboard the space station as a part of the Expedition 70 mission.
Docking is ready for six:14 a.m. EDT (1114 GMT) on Sunday (Dec. 3). You possibly can watch the launch and docking here at Space.com, when the time comes.