Soyuz 2.1a rocket launched Progress MS-31 cargo spacecraft (designated Progress 92 by NASA) from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 3 July 2025 at 1932 UTC, beginning a resupply mission to the International Space Station(ISS). The spacecraft is expected to dock with the zenith port of the ISS's Poisk module on 5 July at around 2127 UTC after a two-day free flight.

Progress MS-31 is painted in an unusual blue and white scheme as it was originally intended for a Glavkosmos commercial launch.

The spacecraft is carrying over 2,600 kg of cargo, including 1,205 kg of dry cargo such as food, clothing, and equipment for several science experiments, 950 kg of refueling propellant for the space station, 420 liters of potable water for the crew, and 50 kg of nitrogen to replenish the ISS atmosphere.

The Progress MS-31 mission will support the Expedition 73 crew aboard the ISS, delivering necessary supplies and equipment for scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, which will help prepare humans for future space missions and benefit humanity.

Progress 92(MS-31) will take the place of the Progress 90(MS-29) vehicle, which undocked from the same Poisk port on Tuesday (July 1) after a roughly seven-month stay. Progress 90 will burnt up on re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere -- the same fate that awaits Progress 92 about six months from now.

The Russian segment of the ISS currently hosts other visiting vehicles, including Soyuz MS-27, and Progress MS-30 (Progress 91).

Soyuz MS-27 crewed spacecraft launched on 8 April 2025, carrying NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky to the ISS. MS-30 cargo spacecraft launched on Feb. 27, and is docked to Zvezda service module's aft port.

NASA maintains a separate naming convention for these missions, reflecting an organizational distinction rather than a difference in the spacecraft themselves.

MS-31 mission is the second launch of the Progress MS spacecraft in 2025 and the third rocket launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome this year.

Progress is currently one of three cargo ships that deliver supplies to the ISS. The other two are private American vehicles: Northrup Grumman's Cygnus and SpaceX's Dragon.

American rapper and Hip Hop mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs was found guilty Wednesday, by a jury in New York City on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution in his federal trial, but was acquitted of the more severe charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking.

Combs was convicted of two counts related to transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution, each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Prosecutors estimated a preliminary sentence of 51 to 63 months, or roughly four to five years. He will receive 10 months of credit for time served.

Despite Combs' attorneys' request for release on a $1 million bond, District Judge Arun Subramanian denied bail, emphasizing the need for Combs to remain in custody due to his history of violence, the defense's concession of violence in his personal relationships and the risk he poses to the community. He'll remain in detention until his sentencing on October 3, 2025.

Verdict watch kicked off Monday as the jury headed back for their deliberations. Combs was facing five total felony counts: one of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

Tuesday afternoon, the jury sent a note saying they had reached a verdict on counts 2 through 5, but had been unable to reach a verdict on count 1, for racketeering conspiracy. Subraminian sent the jury back to continue deliberating, and they resumed Wednesday morning.

Racketeering was widely viewed as the most complicated and difficult for prosecutors to establish. The Department of Justice has defined the elements of a conviction under federal RICO law as requiring the government to “prove beyond a reasonable doubt: (1) that an enterprise existed; (2) that the enterprise affected interstate commerce; (3) that the defendant was associated with or employed by the enterprise; (4) that the defendant engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity; and (5) that the defendant conducted or participated in the conduct of the enterprise through that pattern of racketeering activity through the commission of at least two acts of racketeering activity as set forth in the indictment.”

At 9:52 am ET Wednesday, the jury sent a note that they had reached a verdict. “We have reached a verdict on all counts,” the note read.

The verdicts were not guilty of racketeering conspiracy, not guilty on both counts of sex trafficking Ventura and “Jane,” and guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

After the verdict was read, Subramanian thanked the jury for their service and urged them to be cautious about speaking to the press or other people.

Prosecutors have argued Combs masterminded a decades-long criminal enterprise that abused, threatened, and coerced his victims, including Cassie Ventura, his ex-girlfriend whom he was seen violently assaulting in a now-infamous hotel surveillance video from March 2016, and another ex-girlfriend, pseudonymously referred to as “Jane” during the trial.

Combs' legal team, led by attorney Marc Agnifilo, argued throughout the trial that any sexual encounters were legal and consensual.

The 55-year-old had initially denied Ventura’s accusations against him when she sued him in November 2023 saying Combs had raped, abused, and sex trafficked her for years. The lawsuit was settled out of court one day later; Ventura testified during this trial that the settlement was $20 million. A few days after the hotel video was obtained and published by CNN in May 2024, Combs posted a video on his Instagram account admitting to his “inexcusable” actions and saying he was “disgusted” with himself.

Post-verdict Wednesday, Combs’ defense counsel argued that he “should be released on appropriate conditions” since he was acquitted of the most serious charges. Agnifilo vowed to the court that his client, if released, would return to his house in Miami to be with his family and comply with the court’s conditions.

Last September, the court denied defense attorneys’ motion for bail and ordered Combs to remain incarcerated during the pendency of the trial. An appeal the next day was rejected and the trial court’s denial of bail and pre-trial detention was affirmed. Combs has been held in federal custody since then and throughout the trial.

“Is your proposal that he leave this courtroom and walk outside?” Subramanian asked Agnifilo.

Agnifilo replied yes, and emphasized to the judge that Combs “has been given his life by this jury” by avoiding having to spend the rest of his life in prison and would be “nothing short of a fool” if he were released pre-sentencing and violated any of the court’s conditions.

“He treasures, I assure you, the opportunity that he has been given, and he will not run afoul of anything this court imposes on him,” Agnifilo said.

Prosecutors said the government opposes Combs being released.

Assistant US Attorney Maurene Comey highlighted the substantial evidence presented during the trial of Combs’ heavy drug use and abuse, which was not contested by his defense, and argued the defendant had shown a pattern of not respecting the law, that he had “continued to commit a litany of crimes” even after he knew he was being investigated, and therefore could not be trusted not to commit new crimes if he were released.

Comey added that prosecutors will be seeking incarceration for the two counts of which Combs was convicted.

Ventura’s attorney Doug Wigdor made a statement praising his client for having the “courage” to file her 2023 lawsuit that launched this criminal investigation and “paved the way for a jury to find him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution.”

“By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice,” said Wigdor, lauding Ventura for the way she showed “exemplary courage throughout this trial” and “brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit and the misconduct that has persisted for decades without repercussion.”

“This case proved that change is long overdue,” he added, “and we will continue to fight on behalf of survivors.”

The SpaceX Falcon 9 at 2104 UTC on July 1, launched Meteosat Third Generation Sounder (MTG-S1) satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center. MTG-S1 is the second in a six-satellite series developed by the European Organization for the Exploration of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) alongside European Space Agency(ESA).

Falcon 9's first stage(B1085) came back to Earth as planned about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, touching down on the SpaceX drone ship "Just Read the Instructions," which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile the rocket's upper stage continued spaceward, deploying MTG-S1 about 35 minutes after liftoff.

The satellite will now make its way to geostationary orbit (GEO), which lies 35,786 kilometers above Earth. At this altitude, orbital speed matches Earth's rotational speed, meaning satellites there "hover" over the same patch of the planet continuously. This makes GEO a popular destination for weather and reconnaissance spacecraft.

MTG-S1 represents Europe’s first hyperspectral sounding instrument placed in GEO. It is the second of the MTG satellites to take flight. The first was MTG-I (MTG Imager), which launched atop an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket in December 2022.

The Copernicus Sentinel-4 instrument, which will monitor air quality over Europe, sits on board the MTG-Sounder (MTG-S) satellite. Copernicus Sentinel-4 is part of the European Union's Earth-observation program.

The instrument is an ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared light (UVN) spectrometer, which will monitor air quality over Europe and North Africa every hour, according to ESA officials.

"The spectrometer delivers high-resolution data on gases that affect the quality of the air we breathe, including a wide range of atmospheric trace gases and pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide and formaldehyde," they wrote in the mission description.

"The mission will complement the Sentinel-5 and Sentinel-5P missions, which provide daily observations of the Earth from their polar orbits."

After undergoing a checkout period, MTG-S1 will use its infrared sounder instrument "to capture data on temperature, humidity, wind and trace gases that are used to generate 3D maps of the atmosphere, improving the accuracy of MTG's weather prediction," ESA officials said in a mission description.

The satellite "will provide coverage of Europe and part of northern Africa on a repeat cycle of 15 minutes, providing meteorologists with a complete weather picture of the region, complementing data on cloud formation and lightning from MTG-I," they added.

Today's launch and landing was the ninth for the Falcon 9 booster B1085, according to a SpaceX mission description. Among the booster's previous flights were the Fram2 private astronaut mission, the Crew-9 flight to the International Space Station for NASA and a January 2025 launch that sent two private landers toward the moon: Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and ispace's Resilience.