Soyuz Progress mission 51P Launches to ISS from Baikonur

Main engine ignition. Credit: NASA TV

Russian Progress cargo craft launched on a two-day track in pursuit of the International Space Station, reverting back to the old rendezvous style in preference to the six-hour sprint, employed recently.


Update: Once in orbit, an antenna used as a navigational aid on the Progress did not deploy. Russian ground controllers are assessing a fix.

Loaded with 3.1 tons of food, fuel and supplies, the freighter was boosted into orbit atop an unmanned Russian Soyuz booster from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 6:12 a.m. EDT (1012 GMT).

The space station was located over the South Atlantic at the moment of launch.

The preliminary orbit was achieved after a nine-minute ascent provided by the three-stage rocket, and onboard commands were issued to unfurl the craft's communications and navigation antennas and extend two power-generating solar arrays that span 35 feet.

A series of precise engine firings over the next two days will guide the Progress toward an automated rendezvous with the station for docking Friday at 8:26 a.m. EDT (1226 GMT).

"Unlike its three predecessors, this Progress M-19M cargo craft is relegated to the typical two-day rendezvous because of the phasing and orbital mechanics associated with this launch date," NASA said.

The 24-foot long ship will attach itself to the aft port of the Zvezda service module, which became available last week when a previous Progress flew away to fly solo for daily thruster firings to help ground controllers in Russia calibrate radar systems before its eventual de-orbiting into the South Pacific on Sunday.

Today's launch was known in the station's assembly matrix as Progress mission 51P.

The spacecraft's formal Russian designation is Progress M-19M.

The craft will bring nearly three tons of supplies to the station.

The "dry" cargo tucked aboard the Progress amounts to 3,483 pounds in the form of food, spare parts, life support gear and experiment hardware.

The refueling module carries 1,764 pounds of propellant for transfer into the Russian segment of the complex to feed the station's maneuvering thrusters. The vessel also has 926 pounds of water and 48 pounds of oxygen and 57 pounds of air.

The cosmonauts will be standing by Friday to take over manual control of the approaching Progress spacecraft if the autopilot experiences a problem. They spent time Thursday checking out the backup system.