A Russian-built Soyuz rocket capped with an unmanned cargo
ship stands poised for launch on its launch pad at Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the starting line for a
two-day spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS).
In this image, taken during the early morning hours of March
1 in Kazakhstan, the Soyuz booster’s support gantries have begun falling away
as the rocket prepares for liftoff.
The launch, which successfully left Earth earlier this week,
lofted the automated cargo ship Progress 17 into space on a resupply mission to
the ISS. The spacecraft successfully docked with the orbiting station on
Wednesday at about 3:10 p.m. EST (2010 GMT).
Progress 17 delivered 2.3 tons of food, water, spare parts
and other supplies to ISS Expedition 10 commander Leroy Chiao and Salizhan
Sharipov, who have been living aboard the space station since October 2004.
They are expected to return to Earth in April.
-- Tariq Malik
Credit:
AP Photo.
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