CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A Progress freighter packed with a fresh load of equipment and supplies is on the way to the International Space Station according to Russian news sources.

Expedition Five

For complete coverage of Expedition Five's visit to the International Space Station click here.

The small cargo ship was launched into Earth orbit early Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Russian news media reported an on time liftoff of 1:36 a.m. EDT (0536 GMT). Official statements were expected to be released later in the day.

Using as little maneuvering fuel as possible, it will take the robot spacecraft three days to arrive at the frontier outpost. An automatic docking is expected at 2:25 a.m. EDT (0625 GMT) Saturday.

Waiting to unload the vehicle is Expedition Five commander Valery Korzun and flight engineers Peggy Whitson and Sergei Treschev.

The two cosmonauts and one astronaut, who arrived at the station on June 7, will need the food, clothes and other supplies and equipment to be delivered inside the Progress to keep them in good shape for the remainder of their stay in space.

The Expedition Five team are supposed to be replaced during an early October shuttle mission.

NASA officials say it's still too early to know whether those plans will have to change because of tiny cracks found on metal hardware that is part of the shuttle's main propulsion system.

That technical problem is delaying shuttle Columbia's 16-day science mission that was targeted to fly July 19 by a few weeks so inspections can be made on NASA's oldest orbiter.

The Progress now on its way to the station is the eighth to make the journey.

The seventh Progress freighter, loaded with trash and other waster, undocked with the station at 4:26 a.m. EDT (0926 GMT) Tuesday.

NASA managers report the used spaceship re-entered Earth's atmosphere a couple of hours later and harmlessly burned up.