Spaceship To Ferry Vital Supplies To Space Station

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<b>Spaceship To Ferry Vital Supplies To Space Station</b><br /><br />LINK<br /><br />An uncrewed Russian supply ship is expected to lift off aboard a Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan on Monday to begin a two-day journey to the International Space Station. The ship's main cargo is equipment for the next space station crew, but it will also bring a few items to prepare for the return to flight of NASA's space shuttle, planned for May.<br /><br />The Progress cargo capsule will ferry more than two tonnes of supplies from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to the two-man crew of the station. Lift-off is scheduled for 1909 GMT.<br /><br />Provisions include 160 days' worth of food, 494 kilograms of water, and 175 kg of fuel for the station's Russian thrusters. Also onboard are 109 kg of air and oxygen, equipment for the primary oxygen-generating and carbon dioxide-removal systems, and 32 oxygen-generating canisters. <br /><br />Other supplies include a replacement "heat exchanger" which maintains the temperature in the US airlock - the existing one has rust. The station's toilet, which recently broke, will benefit from new valves, filters, and fungicide.<br /><br />In addition, the cargo ship will ferry equipment to prepare for the next shuttle mission, scheduled to launch no earlier than 15 May. If shuttle Discovery launches on time, this Progress will be the last supply ship to the station before the shuttle's return to flight.<br /><br />Close-up camera<br />The Progress will carry digital cameras and lenses for imaging at distances of 400 metres and 800 metres. The station crew will use these to photograph the shuttle as it nears the station before docking. The photos will be analysed to determine whether the shuttle's heat shield was damaged during launch.<br /><br />If an emergency arises during the shuttle mission - such as a large hole in the wing similar to that which doomed Columbia - NASA intends to use the Internat