Progress 9 to Depart Space Station Saturday

The Expedition Six crew spent the bulk of its time Friday preparing for the undocking of the Progress 9 cargo ship, which is slated to depart the International Space Station at 9:59 a.m. CST (1559 GMT) Saturday. Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit finished loading trash and other unneeded items into the vessel before closing the hatch. Several hours following its undocking from the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module, the Progress will be commanded to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

A new cargo ship, Progress 10, will launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 6:59 a.m. (1259 GMT) Sunday and dock with the station about 8:55 a.m. CST (1455 GMT) Tuesday. Progress will deliver new supplies, equipment and fuel to the station. NASA TV will provide live coverage of docking, beginning at 8 a.m. CST (1400 GMT) Tuesday.