Russian supply vessel docks with International Space Station

MOSCOW (AFP) Aug 31, 2003
A Russian Progress vessel carrying supplies for the two-man crew on the International Space Station (ISS) successfully docked with the station early Sunday, mission control said.

The craft docked with the ISS at 0345 GMT, the Interfax news agency quoted mission control officials as saying.

The vessel blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday, carrying a cargo of 2,566 kilograms, including food, water and fuel, as well as several films for the ISS crew's entertainment.

Russian flight commander Yury Malenchenko and US flight engineer Edward Lu arrived at the space station in late April for a six-month mission.

Russia has been the only country servicing the 16-nation orbiting space station since the United States grounded its shuttle programme following the Columbia disaster on February 1.

SPACE.WIRE