Russia Brake The Fastest Record When Landing At The International Space Station

The Russian cargo ship Progress 70 made it to the International Space Station (ISS) in less than four hours. This achievement is a journey to the fastest ISS in history.

The cargo that rode the Soyuz-2 rocket departed from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday (9 June 2018). Three hours and 40 minutes later, a cargo containing food, fuel, and other supplies weighing three tons reached the ISS.

Russian-made spacecraft has always been the most efficient in delivering cargo quickly. In the past six years, Soyuz rockets have been able to send cargo and astronauts to the ISS in less than six hours.

This achievement is very significant, when compared to US-made spacecraft like SpaceX and Northrop Grumman which usually takes several days since launch to reach the ISS.

This is the third attempt by Russia to accelerate travel to the ISS. Previously, Russia had to change its plans because the Soyuz rocket control unit had to be replaced, so the trip took two days.

"I think we have finally succeeded, this is very promising to support our upcoming plan, whether for the current program or the future program so this is a huge step forward," Chief Russian Flight Director Vladimir Solovyov

Russia itself plans to use this strategy in future Soyuz manned missions. However, NASA cautioned that this technique needed to be tested several times before being used for a manned mission.