Posted: Mon, May 21, 2001, 1:07 PM ET (1707 GMT)
A Russian Soyuz booster successfully launched a Progress spacecraft carrying supplies for the International Space Station late Sunday. The Soyuz lifted off from Baikonur at 6:32 pm EDT (2232 GMT) and placed into orbit the Progress M1-6 cargo spacecraft. The Progress is scheduled to dock with ISS at 8:23 pm EDT Tuesday (0023 GMT Wednesday). The unmanned spacecraft is carrying food and equipment for the station, including a replacement hard drive for one of the station's computers, as well as 900 kg of propellant that will be used to maintain the station's orbit. The launch is also the first for a new variant of the Soyuz, the Soyuz FG. The Soyuz FG features modernized engines in its first and second stages that will also be used in a commercial version of the Soyuz, Soyuz/ST, being developed by the French-Russian joint venture Starsem.

Related Links:

•  Energia press release
•  SPACE.com article