Russian Cargo Craft Launches to Station

A Russian cargo craft full of supplies from the expanded permanent crew of six aboard the international space station lifted-off this morning for a late-July docking.

Today's launch of a Progress M-67 (34) craft aboard a Soyuz-U rocket occurred at 6:56:56 am EDT, or 4:56 pm local time, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, in western Russia.

The launch occurred from (Yuri) Gagarin's Pad 1, the same pad the first human left from in April 1961 on mankind's first flight into space.

The Progress supply ship would dock about 48 hours following launch to the space station, however with space shuttle Endeavour continuing its docked operations the craft will be placed in a holding pattern until after the orbiter undocks on July 28th.

Progress should dock with the station's Russian Zvezda module this Wednesday, July 29, at about 6:16 am EDT.

Progress M-67 is the 34th cargo craft aimed for the space station, and has over two tons of fuel, food and supplies for the station's current Expedition 20 crew. The supplies should carry the crew into this Fall's arrival of the Expedition 21 crew.