An unmanned
Russian cargo ship launched toward the International Space Station Friday while
13 astronauts inside the outpost geared up for a tough spacewalk.
The
Progress 34 cargo ship lifted off at 6:56 a.m. EDT (1056 GMT), though it was
mid-afternoon at its Central Asian launch site as it soared into orbit from
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. At the time, the linked space station and
shuttle Endeavour flew 218 miles (350 km) above Sapporo, Japan.
Russia's
Mission Control radioed news of the successful launch to Russian cosmonaut
Gennady Padalka, who is currently commanding the station's
Expedition 20 crew.
"Perfect!
We'll be waiting for it," Padalka replied. "Maybe they'll bring something fresh
for us."
The Progress
34 cargo ship, known in Russia as M-67, is carrying 2 1/2 tons of fresh
supplies for the station's core six-man crew and is due to arrive Wednesday, a
day after Endeavour's crew departs.
Packed
aboard the space freighter are 110 pounds (50 kg) of oxygen, 463 pounds (210
kg) of water and 2,718 pounds (1,232 kg) of dry cargo like spare parts and
science gear. The cargo ship is also delivering about 1,830 pounds (830 kg) of
propellant that can be used to tweak the station's orbit when required.
Padalka and
his crew are in the middle of a packed construction mission with the
seven Endeavour astronauts. The shuttle arrived last week to boost the
station's population to 13, its highest ever.
A station
toilet broke early in the mission, but was swiftly repaired to the relief of
the crowded station's joint-crew.
Endeavour astronauts
have delivered a new crewmember and a Japanese experiment porch to the station
while docked at the orbiting laboratory. They are performing the fourth
of five spacewalks for the mission today to replace the station's oldest
solar array batteries.
The shuttle
crew is slated to undock on Tuesday and land July 31.
SPACE.com
is providing continuous coverage of Endeavour's STS-127 mission with reporter
Clara Moskowitz and senior editor Tariq Malik in New York. Click here live spacewalk
coverage, mission updates and SPACE.com's live NASA TV video feed.
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