An unmanned
Russian space freighter docked at the International Space Station early Friday
with a fresh delivery of chocolate and coffee for the orbital outpost's three-astronaut
crew.
The automated
cargo ship Progress 32 docked smoothly at a berth on the station's Earth-facing
Pirs docking compartment at 2:18 a.m. EST (0789 GMT) as both spacecraft flew 215
miles (346 km) above southwestern China near the border of Mongolia.
"Today's a
special day," space station commander Michael Fincke, of NASA, called down to
Mission Control after Progress 32's arrival. "Thank you."
The docking
occurred nearly three days after two satellites - one American, the other
Russian - accidentally slammed
into each other 490 miles (790 km) above Siberia in an
unprecedented collision. NASA and the U.S. Space Surveillance Network are
tracking two large debris clouds from the impact, but currently believe they
represent only a slight
increase in risk to the space station.
To make
sure Friday's docking went as planned, Russian cosmonaut and flight engineer
Yury Lonchakov watched over the cargo ship's arrival from a terminal inside the
space station, where he floated at the ready to take remote control of the
unmanned spacecraft should it veer off course. Lonchakov had to manually guide
in the last cargo ship that arrived at the station, Progress 31, during its
Nov. 30 docking.
But Friday's
rendezvous appeared to be flawless, with the two spacecraft linking up without
the need for human intervention.
"Thank you
for the spacecraft and thank you for Progress," Fincke radioed down to the
station's Mission Control Center in Russia.
Progress 32
launched into space on Tuesday to deliver more than 2 1/2 tons of fresh supplies
for the space station crew. The astronauts were eagerly awaiting the spacecraft's
arrival, since it was carrying a new batch of chocolate, instant coffee and
other special requests in addition to its normal shipment.
"We usually
like to get fresh fruit, onions and garlic," station flight engineer Sandra
Magnus of NASA told SPACE.com last week. "It's like Christmas all over
again when you get a vehicle docking to the space station because they always
have special treats for us."
Also packed
aboard Progress 32 are more than 1,910 pounds (866 kg) of propellant for the
space station's engines, 110 pounds (50 kg) of oxygen and air and 2,866 pounds
(1,298 kg) of dry cargo, which includes food, clothing, experiment hardware and
a brand new Russian-built Orlan spacesuit, NASA officials said.
Fincke and
his crewmates are expected to open the hatches between the station and Progress
32 later today at about 5:15 a.m. EST (1015 GMT).
With Friday's
docking of Progress 32 complete, the space station astronauts can turn their
full attention to preparations for the planned arrival of NASA's space shuttle
Discovery this month.
Discovery
is currently slated to launch toward the International Space Station no
earlier than Feb. 22 and dock two days later, though an official launch
date for the mission remains unsettled due to ongoing fuel control valve
concerns. Top NASA officials plan to review the valve test data later today and
meet on Feb. 18 to revisit plans for the Feb. 22 launch target.
Commanded
by veteran shuttle flyer Lee Archambault, Discovery's seven-astronaut crew is
gearing up for a two-week mission to deliver the final set of U.S. solar arrays
to the International Space Station. The shuttle is also bringing up Japanese
astronaut Koichi Wakata, who will replace Magnus aboard the station as a member
of the outpost's Expedition 18 crew.
Magnus has
lived aboard the space station since last November and is due to return to
Earth aboard Discovery.
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