Russian Cargo Ship Hauls Supplies, Snails Towards ISS

A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the unmanned Progress 25 cargo ship into orbit on May 11, 2007 EDT (May 12 Local Time) from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. CREDIT: RSC Energia.

An unmanned cargo ship launched into orbit late Friday laden with fresh food, supplies and a reported batch of spaceflying snails on course for the International Space Station (ISS).

The Russian-built Progress 25 space freighter launched towards the ISS at 11:25 p.m. EDT (0325 May 12 GMT) atop a Soyuz rocket from the Central Asian spaceport of Baikonur Cosmodrome Kazakhstan.

"The Progress separated from the third stage of the launch vehicle and entered an orbit with parameters close to those planned," Nikolai Sevastyanov, president of the Russian aerospace firm RSC Energia, told Russia's Interfax News Agency after launch.

More than 2.5 tons of fuel, equipment, clothing and other vital supplies are tucked aboard the Progress 25 for the two-day trek to the ISS, where Expedition 15 commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineers Oleg Kotov and Sunita Williams await their arrival.

Yurchikhin will watch over the cargo ship's autonomous arrival and will be ready to take remote control of the three-module spacecraft from a computer station inside the ISS if required.

Progress 25 is hauling about 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of air, 925 pounds (419 kilograms) of water and 3,042 pounds (1,379 kilograms) of dry cargo to the ISS and will dock at the aft end of the space station's Russian-built Zvezda module, NASA officials said.

The spacecraft's cargo manifest includes 50 snails to be studied in experiments eyeing tissue regeneration in microgravity, Interfax reported.

Russian Flight Control spokesperson Valery Lyndin told Interfax that about 531 pounds (241 kilograms) of fresh fruit, vegetables and other food; 299 pounds (136 kilograms) of medical equipment and care packages from the Expedition 15 crew family members are packed aboard Progress 25. About 831 pounds (377 kilograms) of Progress 25 cargo is reserved for use aboard the station's U.S. segment, Interfax reported.

Russia's Institute for Medical and Biological Problems also included a selection of entertainment DVDs, primarily comedies, that were either requested by the Expedition 15 crew or recommended by spaceflight experts, Interfax reported.

"They psychological support team is also sending several magazines and books requested by crewmembers," Interfax quoted the institute as saying.

Progress 25 is slated to dock at the ISS at 1:10 a.m. EDT (0510 GMT) Tuesday at the space station's Zvezda service module. NASA will provide live coverage of the docking activities beginning at 12:30 a.m. EDT (0430 GMT).

Russia's Interfax News Agency contributed to this report.

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