Progress 25 docks at the space station

Space & Earth science / Space Exploration

A Russian Progress spacecraft loaded with more than 2.5 tons of supplies and equipment docked with the International Space Station at 1:10 a.m. EDT Tuesday.

The 25th unpiloted Progress cargo carrier to dock with the space station delivered various pieces of equipment and more than 1,050 pounds of propellant, nearly 100 pounds of air, and more than 925 pounds of water.

The cargo spacecraft lifted off last Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

ISS Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov MOnday participated in a practice session with a robotically operated rendezvous system. The crew would have used that system to manually guide the Progress 25 cargo craft for docking in the event its automated system encountered a problem.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration controllers in Houston said the space station crew will continue to use oxygen from the Progress 24 spacecraft that is scheduled to remain docked until mid-August.

Once its cargo is unloaded, the P25 ship will be filled with trash and station discards. It is scheduled to be undocked, deorbited and incinerated on re-entry July 20.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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