Live in orbit: Russian freighter docks at station

A robotic Russian space freighter just docked at the International Space Station two days after launching from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Loaded with more than 2.5 tons of fuel, air, water and other supplies and equipment, the Progress 28 cargo carrier linked up with the station at 9:38 a.m. EST -- about five hours prior to the scheduled launch of shuttle Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center.

Atlantis and a crew of seven astronauts are scheduled to dock at the station at 12:24 p.m. EST Saturday -- if they launch on time this afternoon, that is.

The Progress is crammed full with 1,165 pounds of propellant, more than 100 pounds of oxygen, about 925 pounds of water and 2,925 pounds of dry cargo.

The cargo carrier will replace Progress 27, which was undocked from the station Monday. Filled with station trash, that craft will burn up during a destructive atmospheric reentry on Feb. 15.