Next Station Cargo Spacecraft to Launch

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Next Station Cargo Spacecraft Rolls Out to Pad

The International Space Station’s Expedition 40 crew tackled physics and medical research Tuesday, as a new Russian resupply spacecraft rolled out for Wednesday’s launch to the orbiting complex. Meanwhile, flight controllers are tracking a possible conjunction with a piece of space debris that could come into the neighborhood of the station on Wednesday morning

The ISS Progress 56 cargo craft rolled out on a railcar to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Tuesday morning for final preparations for liftoff. The Progress, loaded with about 5,700 pounds of food, fuel and supplies for the six-person Expedition 40 crew, will launch Wednesday at 5:44 p.m. EDT (3:44 a.m. Thursday, Baikonur time) on a 4-orbit, 6-hour fast track rendezvous to dock with the station’s Pirs docking compartment at 11:30 p.m.

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Russian Cargo Ship Launching Tonight; Station Steers Clear of Debris

The Expedition 40 crew of the International Space Station is working through a packed agenda of science Wednesday and preparing for the late-night arrival of a Russian cargo craft set to launch in the afternoon. The station also conducted a “deboost” Wednesday morning to steer clear of some space debris.

The engines of the station’s Zvezda service module conducted a 32-second firing at 6:57 a.m. EDT to slightly lower the orbit of the complex and steer clear of a fragment of debris from a Russian Breeze-M upper stage used in the launch of a Russian satellite in December 2011.

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Russian Cargo Craft Launches for 6-Hour Trek to Station

The unpiloted ISS Progress 56 resupply spacecraft, packed with nearly three tons of cargo for the Expedition 40 crew, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 5:44 p.m. EDT Wednesday (3:44 a.m. Thursday, Kazakh time) to begin a 6-hour, 4-orbit flight to the International Space Station.

A series of thruster firings by Progress over the next several hours will adjust the orbit to put the Russian space freighter on track for a rendezvous with the station and an automated docking to the Earth-facing port of the Pirs docking compartment at 11:30 p.m.

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New Russian Supply Ship Heads to the ISS

The unpiloted Russian ISS Progress 56 cargo ship lifted off on July 23, U.S. time, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-hour trip to deliver almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station. The new Progress 56 craft will remain docked to the station’s Pirs Docking Compartment until late October.

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia

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Cargo Ship Docks to Station Less Than Six Hours After Launch

The ISS Progress 56 resupply spacecraft, packed with almost three tons of cargo, automatically docked to the International Space Station’s Pirs docking compartment at 11:31 p.m. EDT Wednesday, less than six hours after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

At the time of docking, the station was soaring 259 miles over the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of South America.

The Soyuz rocket carrying Progress 56 launched from Baikonur at 5:44 p.m. (3:44 a.m., Baikonur time) to send the cargo ship on its expedited, 4-orbit trek to the station.

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New Russian Supply Ship Arrives at the ISS

Just six hours after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the unpiloted Russian ISS Progress 56 cargo craft automatically docked to the International Space Station July 23, delivering almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the Expedition 40 crew on board. The Progress will remain docked to Pirs until late October.

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia

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Station Crew Opens Cargo Ship Hatch, Preps for CubeSat Deployment

The six-person Expedition 40 crew enjoyed an abbreviated workday Thursday, having worked late the previous night to welcome the arrival of a Russian cargo craft a little less than six hours after its launch from Kazakhstan.

The ISS Progress 56 resupply spacecraft, packed with almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies, automatically docked to the station’s Pirs docking compartment at 11:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday. The space freighter launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:44 p.m. to begin the 4-orbit trek to the orbiting complex.

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