Space Station Cargo Ship Undocks

The International Space Station’s Progress 24 cargo spacecraft successfully undocked Wednesday and will incinerate as it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere.

The undocking occurred at 10:07 a.m. EDT, with the spacecraft’s engines to be fired Wednesday afternoon to start its final descent.

The ISS crew Tuesday moved items no longer needed at the station into the P24. They closed the cargo ship’s hatch, conducted leak checks and activated systems needed for Wednesday’s undocking.

The next supply ship, Progress 26, was moved to its launch pad Tuesday in Kazakhstan, loaded with 5,111 pounds of food, fuel, air, water and other supplies. The cargo craft also contains new Russian computer equipment, including a replacement for the command unit suspected of causing a computer failure aboard the space station in June.

Progress 26 was to be launched Thursday and to dock with the space station Sunday.

The station’s crew members Tuesday also performed a timeline review with National Aeronautics and Space Administration flight controllers in Houston in preparation for Tuesday’s launch of space shuttle Endeavour on its STS-118 mission.