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Russia’s Progress space freighter delivers supplies to International Space Station

The space freighter has delivered 2.4 tons of cargos for the ISS crew; over the past two months, two cargo space ships have failed to reach the ISS and deliver the necessary supplies

KOROLYOV /Moscow Region/, July 5. /TASS/. Russia’s Progress M-28M space freighter has successfully docked with the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS), Mission Control Center said on Sunday.

"The operation was carried out in an automated mode," Mission Control said. 

The space freighter has delivered 2.4 tons of cargos for the ISS crew. The Progress cargo ship was successfully launched into the designated orbit just nine minutes after it was launched aboard a Soyuz-U carrier rocket that blasted off from the Baikonur space station in Kazakhstan at 07:56 Moscow time (04:56 GMT) on July 3.

This is the first Progress cargo ship to dock with the ISS since February. Over this time, only a US Dragon space freighter that blasted off in April visited the world’s sole orbiter.

Over the past two months, two cargo space ships have failed to reach the ISS and deliver the necessary supplies.

Late in April, Roscosmos lost a Progress-M-27M space freighter with about 2.5 tons of cargoes. On June 28, a US unmanned Falcon carrier rocket exploded just minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral in Florida. A Dragon space freighter aboard the Falcon carrier rocket was intended to deliver about 2 tons of supplies to the ISS.

Russia’s Mission Control told TASS earlier the Progress space freighter would deliver the same cargoes to the world’s sole orbiter, which the previous Russian cargo ship failed to supply due to its crash in late April. Specifically, the ISS crew will receive fuel, oxygen, containers and equipment for scientific experiments, water and foodstuffs.

"As for food, 430 kilos of foodstuffs will be delivered to the ISS or 100 kilos more than the amount delivered by the previous spacecraft," Mission Control said.

Also, the Progress space freighter will deliver US cargoes and scientific equipment. The chief of the ISS crew nourishment department at the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems, Alexander Agureyev, told TASS the Progress space freighter will deliver more food than usual "so that it will suffice for everyone."

These are standard food rations, including canned meat and fish, fresh apples, tomatoes, oranges, bulb onion and garlic, and also confectionary.

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