It carried supplies for the EO-1 crew aboard Salyut 6, which consisted of Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko and Georgy Grechko.

The cargo carried by Progress 1 also included equipment for conducting scientific research, and fuel for adjusting the station's orbit and performing manoeuvres.

The spacecraft were powered by chemical batteries, and could operate in free flight for up to three days, remaining docked to the station for up to thirty.

[3][4] Progress 1 was launched at 08:24:40 UTC on 20 January 1978, atop a Soyuz-U 11A511U carrier rocket flying from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, USSR.

[8] Whilst Progress 1 was docked, the EO-1 crew, consisting of cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko and Georgi Grechko, was aboard the station.