Tue, May 15, 2007
Over Two Tons Of Food And Supplies Onboard
NASA reports a Progress cargo spacecraft automatically docked to
the International Space Station early Tuesday, delivering 2.5 tons
of food, fuel and supplies for the residents on board.
The ISS Progress 25 linked up to the aft port of the Zvezda
Service Module at 12:10 am CDT Tuesday as the station sailed 208
miles above the Earth off the northeast coast of Australia. Within
minutes, hooks and latches engaged between the two spacecraft to
form a tight seal. The hatch to the supply ship will be opened
overnight to enable its cargo to be unloaded.
As the Progress approached for its docking, Expedition 15
Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov stood by
in Zvezda in case they needed to take over manual control of the
linkup. The docking, under the guidance of the Kurs automatic
rendezvous system, was smooth and uneventful. Flight Engineer Suni
Williams monitored other station systems and photographed the
Progress’ approach.
The Kurs proximity antenna was retracted earlier than usual, at
a distance of about 148 meters. This enabled Russian flight
controllers to confirm it was functioning properly, since it failed
to retract during the Progress 23 docking last October. In
February, the Expedition 14 crew conducted a spacewalk to fix the
problem.
As Aero-News reported this
weekend, the unpiloted Progress -- essentially, a
Soyuz manned space capsule stripped of life-support systems and
manual flight controls -- launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan at 10:25 pm CDT Friday for its three-day journey to the
station.
The Progress delivered more than 1,050 pounds of propellant,
almost 100 pounds of air, more than 925 pounds of water and 3,042
pounds of dry cargo.
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