Robotic Russian Space Freighter Zooms Toward Space Station

A robotic Russian space freighter is cruising toward the International Space Station today after a launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Carrying almost 2.5 tons of supplies and equipment, the Progress 38 spacecraft is due to arrive at the station at 12:58 p.m. Friday.

Onboard the cargo carrier: 2,667 pounds of equipment, 1,918 pounds of propellant, 220 pounds of water and 110 pounds of oxygen and air. The Progress launched at 11:35 a.m. today.

The Progress space freighters look almost identical to Soyuz crew transports, but they do feature significant differences. The middle section of the Progress is a refueling module rather than a descent module. And the upper segment is a cargo hold rather than a crew module for orbital operations.