The International Space Station crew was preparing for the arrival of a new Progress freighter spacecraft that will deliver more than 2.5 tons of supplies.
The unpiloted Progress 25 cargo spacecraft was to lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:25 p.m. EDT Friday carrying fuel, air, water and other supplies and equipment for the space station.
The 25th Progress carrier to be launched to the orbiting laboratory will carry more than 1,050 pounds of propellant, nearly 100 pounds of air, more than 925 pounds of water and 3,042 pounds of dry cargo. It is scheduled to dock with the station Tuesday, about 1:10 a.m. EDT.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration controllers in Houston said the spacecraft will use an automated system to dock at the space station, but Cmdr. Fyodor Yurchikhin will be at the controls of a manual docking system should his intervention be required.
Once its cargo is unloaded, Progress 25 will be filled with trash and station discards. It is scheduled to be undocked, deorbited and be incinerated upon re-entry July 20.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
