After a string of launch failures, NASA says astronauts have just four months of supplies left. A Russian rocket launching early Friday could provide relief.
The liftoff of the Soyuz Progress 60P was a relief to astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station after two previous resupply missions — one Russian and one American — failed.
The launch is the latest in a string of failures for the Proton-M rocket, a workhorse for the International Launch Services, a joint Russia-American satellite carrier business.
The cargo ship was launched Tuesday and scheduled to dock at the International Space Station to deliver 2.5 tons of supplies. Ground control lost contact after the ship reached its first orbit.
The coffee on the International Space Station is about to get much better. The SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule linked up with the station Friday morning, bringing a long-awaited ISSpresso machine.
Two American astronauts at the Space Station are outside the craft for the last of three jobs aimed at paving the way to receive a new generation of crew modules beginning in 2017.