Russian spacecraft successfully docks at ISS

Added by Gary Dunn on November 2, 2011

An unmanned Russian supply spacecraft successfully delivered supplies to the International Space Station on Wednesday, after all flights of similar Russian spacecrafts were grounded over safety concerns after a crash on August 24.

“The entire journey was flawless”, said a spokesman on NASA TV after the spacecraft completed its docking procedures at about 11:41 GMT/UTC. The spacecraft, a Russian Progress craft, delivered a total of 2.8 tons of cargo including food, oxygen and other supplies.

The mission’s three day successful automated flight allowed for the resumption of manned space launches and conformed that the Russian space agency corrected the underlying problem.

A new crew is expected to take a two-day journey to the ISS beginning on November 14.

Russia’s Soyuz capsules are now the only spacecraft capable of carrying crews to the space station, since NASA ended its space shuttle program earlier this year. It currently costs US$350m to use the Soyuz capsules.