Until shuttle flights resume, the Russians are the space station's only supply pipeline. Besides food, water and oxygen, the spacecraft also brought comedy to the newly married Russian cosmonaut
Avi Blizovsky
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A Russian cargo spacecraft, the last remaining supply option for the International Space Station, successfully docked with the station on Sunday.
The Progress spacecraft docked at the station five minutes before the scheduled time, at 07:40 Moscow time. said a spokesman for the Russian space agency. "Everything is fine, even excellent." he concluded.
Since the Columbia disaster, on February 1 of this year, Russia remains the only country capable of sending people and supplies to the space station which is worth 95 billion dollars and is maintained by 16 countries.
The Progress rocket took off on Friday from the Baikonur space port in Kazakhstan with food, water, fuel and oxygen inside for the crew members - the American Edward Lu and the newly married Russian, Yuri Melanchenko.
Also in the luggage are Russian and French comedies, CDs with Russian Cossack songs on them, chocolate, fresh fruit and most importantly - a satellite phone.
The previous crew of the station landed hundreds of kilometers from the destination in the endless steppes of Kazakhstan due to a technical fault and the rescuers searched for hours for the astronauts who remained without means of communication.
Russia seeks financial aid
The Russian rocket carrying supplies and crews to the International Space Station has 99 percent reliability. Space experts say that the International Space Station was designed so that the USA or Russia could, when necessary, serve the station alone.
However, senior officials in the Russian space program say that while Moscow manages to meet the technological part of the expensive program, it will welcome financial help from Washington. Senior officials at NASA have so far estimated that the shuttle will be able to fly as early as March or April 2004, however if a shuttle does not take off by then, there will be no way to serve the space station because it is necessary to build more Soyuz and Progress spacecraft.
The Progress also carried with it scientific equipment for experiments to be carried out by the Spanish astronaut Pedro Duca, who will fly to the space station together with the American (of British origin) Michael Powell and the Russian Alexander Clary in October. Duka will return to Earth a week later together with the members of the station's current crew who will complete a six-month stay in space.
Melanchenko surprised the world when he was the first astronaut or cosmonaut to be carried in space.
Russia launched a rocket into space with supplies for the crew of the International Space Station
29/8/03
Russia today launched a rocket into space with supplies for the crew of the International Space Station. The rocket is supposed to dock at the space station on Sunday and bring the astronauts food, water, oxygen as well as equipment for scientific experiments. Since the space shuttle Columbia disaster six months ago, Russian rockets have remained the only supply route to the station, where an American and a Russian are now staying. The Voice of Israel reported that the astronauts, Lu and Melanchenko, are supposed to return to Earth in about two months, after completing six months in space.
The Rossiya television station said that Progorus will also deliver to the astronauts on the space station some comedy CDs, audio CDs and fresh fruit, as well as a satellite phone that will allow the crew members to contact rescue teams when they land in October. As you remember, contact with the previous team was lost for two hours because their Soyuz spacecraft landed 400 kilometers from the destination, in the steppes of Kazakhstan due to a technical malfunction. The three were not equipped with a telephone device or a GPS device that allows them to locate their location.
The spokesman for the control center near Moscow said that the launch of the M-48 Prorogus was carried out as planned without any problems this morning (Friday) at 5:48 Moscow time (4:48 Israel time, 21:48 p.m. Thursday EST). The spacecraft is expected to dock at the International Space Station on Sunday at 07:45 Moscow time, (06:45 Israel time, 23:45 midnight, US Eastern Time).
NASA estimates that in March or April 2004 the space shuttle flights will resume and then it will be possible to transfer larger quantities of supplies to the International Space Station.
Yadan International Space Station
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