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Russian cargo ship expected to dock to International Space Station

Posted on: Saturday, 31 January 2004, 06:00 CST

MOSCOW (AP) -- A Russian cargo ship carrying supplies, material for experiments and a spare hose was set to dock with the International Space Station on Saturday, Russian Mission Control said.

The unmanned Progress M1-11 is expected to dock automatically to the station's Russian module. If a problem arises, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, who is currently on the station, will take over the docking manually.

Russian Soyuz crew capsules and Progress cargo ships have remained the only link to the station since the U.S. shuttle fleet was grounded following the loss of the shuttle Columbia during its return to Earth nearly a year ago.

The Progress is loaded with more than 2 metric tons (2.2 tons) of fuel, food, water, oxygen and other supplies, including a spare hose to replace the one that was responsible for a slow air leak aboard the station earlier this month.

U.S. astronaut Michael Foale and his crewmate Kaleri discovered the hose was leaking Jan. 11, and removed and capped it. The air pressure aboard the orbiting outpost has since stabilized.

The hose is used to prevent a window on the space station from fogging up. It takes condensation that forms between the panes of glass and vents it into space.

The Progress will also deliver personal letters to the two astronauts, who have been working in space since October, and it carries two new Russian Orlan spacesuits for spacewalks. Russian and European mannequins are also onboard. They will be used to study the impact of space radiation on the human body during spaceflight.

Such studies are essential for planning manned space missions to the moon and Mars like the one U.S. President George W. Bush proposed earlier this month. Russian space officials have voiced a desire to cooperate with the United States on the planned missions.

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