A Russian supply ship docked with the international space station Thursday to deliver food, water and clothes to the two men on board, Russian mission control said.
The unmanned Progress M-49, which blasted off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Tuesday, was also delivering presents for Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka and NASA’s Michael Fincke, who have been aboard the space station since mid-April.
“The Progress successfully docked at 1754 (9:54 a.m. ET),” a spokesman said. “Everything went according to plan.”
Russia has launched all of the ships sent to the space station since February 2003, when the space shuttle Columbia blew apart upon re-entry and the United States grounded its shuttle fleet. All seven astronauts on board Columbia died.
Padalka and Fincke are scheduled to remain in orbit until October, when a fresh crew should be sent up to replace them.