Russia Launches Progress Resupply Capsule to the ISS

As the six-astronaut crew aboard the International Space Station are scrambling to finish preparations for space shuttle Endeavor's arrival a couple of days from now, the Russians launched a new resupply space capsule, designated Progress 42.

The spacecraft took off at 7:05 pm local time (1305 GMT), from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in the steppes of Kazakhstan. Its mission is to replace the Progress 41 capsule, which separated from the orbital lab last week, and got destroyed while reentering Earth's atmosphere.

Russian Federal Space Agency (RosCosmos) experts believe that the Progress missions are indispensable to the success of the ISS. These reliable spacecraft carry large amounts of food, water, fuel, propellant, personal items, scientific experiments, spare parts and other supplies for the station.

Their role will be expanded further as the American shuttles are getting ready to retire from active duty, after around 30 years of service. Other than Russia, only the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) still have the capability to resupply the ISS.

The new Progress capsule is scheduled to catch up with the orbital lab at around 1429 GMT on Friday, April 29, Space Fellowship reports. According to the official flight manifest, it will attach itself to the station on the same port that Progress 41 used until last week.

RosCosmos reports that the new space delivery consists of 1,940 pounds of propellant, 110 pounds of oxygen and air, 926 pounds of water and 2,976 pounds of maintenance hardware, experiment equipment and resupply items.

It's very unlikely that Expedition 27 astronauts will have time to unload the supplies before Endeavor reaches the ISS. The American shuttle is scheduled to launch tomorrow at around 3:47 pm (1947 GMT), from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida.

Usually, it takes a shuttle about two days to reach the station, so Endeavor will most likely dock on Sunday, May 1. After this happens, all 12 astronauts of the joint mission crew will be busy with conducting spacewalks and installing the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) particle detector.

The activity will conclude in about two weeks. It will be only after that time that astronauts will be able to unload the cargo carried by Progress 42, store it, and then refill the capsule with unneeded thrash.