A freighter packed with
fresh supplies and critical repair parts for the International Space
Station successfully rocketed away from Earth today and immediately began
plotting a three-day trek to the orbiting outpost.
The Russian Progress M-58
spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:41 a.m. EDT (1341 GMT) aboard a three-stage Soyuz booster.
The 24-foot (seven-meter) long
ship, known in the station's assembly matrix as Progress mission 23P, reached
its preliminary orbit nine minutes after liftoff and separated from the
launcher's spent upper stage.
Onboard commands extended
the Progress craft's two power-generating solar arrays that span 35 feet (10
meters) and unfurled communications and navigation antennas.
A series of precise engine
firings over the next three days will guide the Progress into the station's
orbit for the automated docking at 10:28 a.m. EDT (1428 GMT) Thursday. It will
link up with the usual Progress parking spot at the station -- the Zvezda
service module's aft port.
The cargo craft is loaded
with 4,812 pounds (2,182 kilograms) of supplies. The "dry" cargo
amounts to 2,784 pounds (1,262 kilograms) in the form of spare parts, repair
gear, life support and equipment hardware. The payload includes repair parts
for the Russian Elektron oxygen-generation system, which has been shut down
since last month.
The refueling module
carries 1,918 pounds (869 kilograms) of propellant for transfer into the
Russian segment of the station to feed the outpost's maneuvering thrusters.
To replenish the station's
oxygen supply, the Progress is bringing 110 pounds (49 kilograms) of oxygen.
The International Space
Station is occupied by the Expedition
14 crew of commander Mike
Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail
Tyurin and Thomas
Reiter. Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin are beginning their second month on the
complex, while Reiter has been there since July.
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