The Progress M 1-2 cargo ship docked to the Mir space station today delivering fuel and supplies for the 28th long-term crew occupying the Russian orbital outpost.
The docking between the cargo ship and the space station took place two days after the un-piloted tanker was launched from Area 1 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The fresh cargo ship replaced the Progress M 1-1 spacecraft at the rear docking port of the Kvant 1 module.
In preparation for the new cargo ship arrival, Progress M 1-1, which has been parked at the station since February, undocked from Mir on Wednesday and several hours later its engines fired to deorbit the spacecraft.
The fresh cargo ship brought supplies and propellants to the station.
The propellant delivered by the Progress spacecraft will be pumped into the tanks on board Mir's core module, while the cargo ships' engines will be used in the course of the flight to adjust the outpost's altitude. Mir's orbit was degrading faster than average this year due to unusually high solar activity.
Occurring every 11 years, the peaks in solar activity cause the Earth's atmosphere to "bulge." As a result, low-orbital spacecraft experience more friction from atmospheric particles and need to consume more propellant to maintain their altitude.
Cosmonauts Sergei Zaletin and Alexander Kalery have been working on Mir since April 6 on the first piloted mission financed by private investors.
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