SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
*ISS Progress 26 Soars to Station*
Progress 26 launches on August 2, 2007Image above: The ISS Progress 26 cargo craft lifts off from the pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on August 2, 2007. Image credit: NASA/Mark Bowman
TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
The ISS Progress 26 (P26) is on course to arrive at the International Space Station just about on time, but the space shuttle Endeavour is going to be a little later than planned.
The station crew members, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov and Clay Anderson, got an early start to their weekend with a light-duty day on Friday. It was scheduled because Sunday will be a busy day, with the arrival of the new Progress scheduled for about 2 40 p.m. EDT.
Meanwhile, Endeavour's launch was pushed back from Tuesday to Wednesday at 6:36 p.m. That was done to give workers additional time to complete routine prelaunch activities. Station crew members held a conference by radio Friday morning with their future visitors of the Endeavour crew.
Progress 26 launched Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1:34 p.m. It is loaded with 5,111 pounds of food, fuel, air, water and supplies. The P26 will dock to the Pirs docking compartment. NASA TV coverage will begin at 2:00 p.m.
+ Watch NASA TV http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
On Friday, station crew members configured and tested the television system and video equipment. The cameras will show the station as the P26 approaches and provide the P26 cameras views of the station during its approach for docking. Yurchikhin and Kotov held a one-hour, detailed conference with specialists on the ground to discuss the specifics of the rendezvous.
+ Read more about the ISS Progress 26 Launch http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/exp15_progress26_advancer.html + Read more about Expedition 15 http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/index.html + View crew daily timelines http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/timelines/index.html