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Russia sends cargo ship to ISS

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW JUNE 8. Russia has successfully launched a cargo spaceship to the International Space Station with supplies for a Russian-U.S. crew manning the station.

A Soyuz-U booster rocket launched from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan on Sunday morning placed the Progress cargo spacecraft in a planned orbit, flight controllers told the Interfax news agency. The spacecraft, scheduled to dock with the ISS on Wednesday, will deliver 2.3 tonnes of food, water, fuel and scientific instruments to the station.

With Sunday's launching Russia has completed the full cycle of keeping the ISS operational single-handedly after the U.S. suspended its flight programme in the wake of the Columbia space shuttle disaster on February 1.

Russian spacecraft took a two-man crew to the station at the end of April, evacuated the previous crew of three in early May, and will now be ferrying supplies to the station. Previously the work was split between U.S. and Russian spacecraft, with American shuttles carrying ISS crews, and Russian Progress ships delivering supplies.

Meeting the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in St. Petersburg earlier this month, the U.S. President, George W. Bush, expressed "great appreciation'' to Russia for keeping the ISS alive after the Columbia crash.

Russia will send two more Progress cargo ships to the space station this year, in August and November.

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