Russia sends cargo ship to International Space Station

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russia on Wednesday launched a cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos (RKA) said.

A statement by the space agency said that the spacecraft, Progress MS-12 cargo ship was successfully placed into the orbit after its launch from Kazakhstan.

The cargo launched on the Soyuz-2.1 carrier rocket will deliver supplies to the astronauts, working on the ISS.

“The launch was performed under normal conditions,” the RKA said in a statement.

The spacecraft is transporting to the ISS, 1.2 tons of dry cargo, more than a ton of fuel to refuel the system, 420 kilograms of water and 50 kilograms of compressed gas in cylinders, the statement added.

The statement further said that the cargo compartment was also packed with scientific equipment, components for the life support system, as well as containers with food, clothing, medicines and personal hygiene products.

An international team currently operating at the ISS included two Russian astronauts Alexey Ovchinin and Alexandre Skvortsov. Other astronauts are Nick Hague, Christina Cook and Andrew Morgan from the U.S. and Luca Parmitano from Italy.

The ISS is the only space laboratory, in which crew members from different scientific fields, conduct experiments and explore various facets of space.