Expedition 10 Trains With Robot Arm, Removes Equipment From Progress 15

The Expedition 10 crew put the International Space Station’s robotic arm
through a workout on Wednesday. An objective of the session was to allow the
crewmembers to maintain their skills for using the robot arm, Canadarm2. The
session was also used to perform engineering tests on the arm.

The crew removed the Kurs automated docking system equipment from the ISS
Progress 15 spacecraft. The equipment will be returned to Earth for use on a
future cargo ship. Progress 15 will meet its fate next week. It will be
commanded to undock from the aft end of the Station’s Zvezda Service Module
on Dec. 22 at 1:32 p.m. CST (1932 GMT). After undocking, controllers will
command Progress 15 to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

The departure of the Russian spacecraft sets the stage for the arrival of
the ISS Progress 16 cargo ship. The uncrewed cargo ship will deliver water,
fuel and supplies, including food. Progress 16 is scheduled to lift off from
Kazakhstan on Dec. 23 at 4:19 p.m. CST (2219 GMT) and dock with the Station
at 6:05 p.m. CST on Dec. 25 (0005 GMT Dec. 26).