Russia launched ships carrying new year gifts to the ISS station

Last night, Russia's unmanned aerial spacecraft left the ground to the ISS International Space Station, transporting food, water and new year gifts to astronauts working on this trajectory.

Russia's unmanned aerial cargo spacecraft.Photos: Wikipedia.

The Soyuz rocket carries a resupply ship, Progress M-01M, from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan, at 1538 (Hanoi time 19h38). This is the first of a series of Russian cargo spacecraft equipped with state-of-the-art digital control system.

Progress ship (Progress) will connect with the ISS station for 4 days to transfer 2.5 tons of food, drinking water, fuel, clothes, new equipment and new year gifts from relatives to astronauts working on orbit.

Among the new clothes on this station are polo-and-shorts shirts made of special fabrics and designed specifically for the passengers, making them comfortable when working on the space station.

Progress is Russia's self-destruct unmanned cargo ship, serving as a supply mission for the ISS International Space Station and formerly the Soviet space station. Every year, there are 3 to 4 trains of Progress ship to ISS station. After unloading, the astronauts on the station will transfer waste into the ship and it will leave the station, launch out of orbit and destroy itself.

Meanwhile, America's Endeavor carrying 7 astronauts and more than 6 tons of cargo are connected to the ISS station. The ship's astronauts make four space walks to repair the solar absorption system. Besides, they also have the task of installing new equipment on the station such as new restrooms, kitchen, gym equipment, bedrooms .

Under the original plan, the Endeavor will land back to Kennedy Center on November 30, but will have to retreat one day to repair new equipment on the ISS. This is the fourth and also the last flight in 2008 of the United States. NASA plans to carry out 10 more flights of spacecraft before their spaceship expires in 2010.