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Russian cargo ship docks at International Space Station

The Russian cargo ship Progress M-15M successfully docked at the International Space Station on Sunday, the mission control centre said.

"The docking was by automatic pilot," mission control said on its website, adding that the operation ended at 1439 GMT.

Progress, carrying 2.35 tonnes of fuel, food and water, was launched by a Soyuz rocket on Friday from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The ISS, which orbits 350 kilometres (about 220 miles) above the earth, is permanently occupied by international researchers.

Six men are currently aboard, Russians Oleg Kononenko, Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin, US astronauts Dan Burbank and Don Pettit, and Andre Kuipers of The Netherlands.

The Russian space industry suffered a spate of five failed launches in 2011.

by Sajjad Tarakzai © 2012 AFP

Source : AFP

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Published on ASDNews: Apr 22, 2012