SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

*ISS Progress 26 Prepares for Liftoff*

ISS Progress 26 on the launch pad in Baikonur Image above: The ISS Progress 26 on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Image credit: NASA/Mark Bowman

TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

The ISS Progress 26 vehicle rolled to its launch pad Tuesday loaded with 5,111 pounds of food, fuel, air, water and supplies. The cargo craft also contains new Russian computers, cables, connectors and a commanding unit. The commanding unit will replace an identical unit on the station when the upcoming STS-118 mission visits in August. The unit is suspected of causing the computer failure during the STS-117 mission in June.

On the eve of the undocking of the Progress 24 cargo ship from the Pirs docking compartment, the crew members completed the stowage of discarded items no longer needed on the station. They closed the hatch, conducted leak checks and activated the ship's systems for Wednesday’s undocking scheduled for 10:05 a.m. EDT. The Progress engines will be fired at about 2:40 p.m. to begin the descent to Earth's atmosphere, where it will burn up 30 minutes later.

The crew members also did a timeline review with flight controllers Tuesday as they prepare for the launch of Endeavour on the STS-118 mission Aug. 7.

+ 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