Robot Ship Heads For ISS On Resupply Mission

Count on these things: Death, taxes and Russian space shots. They are inevitable and, generally, run as dependably as Rolex watches. A Russian Progress module lifted off from Central Asia late Thursday, carrying coveted supplies to the two-man crew aboard the International Space Station.

Progress carried 4,600 pounds of food, water, spares and oxygen to the island in space. It's scheduled to arrive for an automated docking procedure Saturday night.

Thursday night's launch was especially vital because of a breakdown aboard the ISS in May. That's when the main oxygen generator went on the fritz.

"Clearly, it's down," Kirk Shireman, the NASA station mission-management team chairman, told reporters about the ISS's ability to perform as a refuge for shuttle crew members if something goes drastically wrong in next month's return to flight. "If for some reason the Progress did not arrive... it's not to say we could not support the (Discovery) launch, but right now in our calculations we are including (the capsule's oxygen supply)."

Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and Astronaut John Phillips have had to rely on back-up systems and oxygen-generating candles for breathable air. Progress is hauling up more oxygen tanks and more candles -- as well as spares that could allow the crew to repair the cranky generator.

FMI: www.spaceflight.nasa.gov