Russian Trash Ship Casts Off from Space Station

An unmanned
Russian cargo ship packed with trash cast off from the International Space
Station (ISS) late Friday to make room for fresh delivery due at the orbital
lab next week.
The
automated space
freighter Progress 26 departed its berth at the station’s
Russian-built Pirs docking port at about 10:59 p.m.
EST (0359 GMT), freeing up a parking spot for a new ship to dock early

Launched
on Aug. 2, Progress 26 is the latest in a long line of unmanned Russian
cargo ships to depart the ISS. Similar in appearance to Russia’s
crewed Soyuz spacecraft, Progress freighters routinely haul new equipment,
clothing, water, food, propellant and personal items to astronauts living
aboard the orbital laboratory.A replacement supply ship, Progress 27, is due to launch atop a Russian Soyuz
rocket at 2:12 a.m. EST (1912 GMT) from the Central Asian spaceport of Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
In addition to Malenchenko’s birthday gifts,
the cargo ship will ferry more than 2.5 tons of propellant, food, and other
vital supplies to the station’s .

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