MOSCOW -- Launch of Progress M1-5 to the Russian space station Mir has been postponed for four or five days, according to Flight Director Vladimir Solovyov, a veteran cosmonaut.

A Soyuz rocket with a Progress freighter destined for Mir sits on its Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad before a Jan. 18 launch attempt is scrubbed. Click to enlarge this RSC Energia image.

The cancellation has nothing to do with the Progress or its Soyuz rocket, stressed Solovyov. Instead, the problem is with Mir, which had another power failure overnight.

The voltage of some of the modules dropped below 27 volts. As a result, Mir's main gyroscopic orientation system switched off automatically and Mir is currently drifting uncontrolled in space.