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Russian Cargo Spacecraft Leaves International Space Station

Posted on: Tuesday, 5 February 2008, 09:00 CST

Russian cargo spacecraft leaves International Space Station

MOSCOW -- The Russian cargo spacecraft Progress M-62 left the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday,Interfax news agency reported.

"The undocking of the Progress spacecraft M-62 proceeded without accidents," said the Flight Control in Korolyov, near Moscow.

The spacecraft, which has been docked to the ISS since December26, 2007, will launch into an autonomous flight for two weeks after the undocking, said Valery Lyndin, spokesman of the Flight Control Center.

With the assistance of the spacecraft, Russian scientists will conduct the Plasma-Progress test similar to the test conducted on the cargo spacecraft Progress M-60 last September, said the Interfax.

Progress M-62 will be dumped in two weeks into the so-called Spacecraft Cemetery, some 3,000 km from New Zealand in the PacificOcean.

Before undocking, the ISS crew loaded the spacecraft with wasteand used equipment, while stripping the craft of all expensive equipment that will be taken to earth either on the U.S. shuttle or on Russian's piloted spacecraft Soyuz.

Progress M-62 has made room for the next spacecraft Progress M- 63, to be launched from Baikonur space center in central Asia onFebruary 5, at 4 p.m. Moscow time (1300 GMT).

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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