A Russian cargo spaceship carrying space trash was jettisoned from the International Space Station (ISS) and sunk in the Pacific Wednesday, the Mission Control said.

The Progress M-53 ship, carrying one ton of space trash, undocked from the space station at 2:26 p.m. Moscow time (1026 GMT) and fell into waters 5,400 km east of New Zealand at 6:13 p.m. Moscow time (1413 GMT), Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin told the Itar-Tass news agency.

With most of the Progress ship burnt out during re-entry into the atmosphere, only its remnants dipped into the Pacific.

The ship was dumped to free a docking port on the ISS for the arrival of a new cargo ship. The next ship, the Progress M-54, is due to lift off Thursday with food and fuel and dock with the station Saturday.

Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and US astronaut John Phillips have been working on the station since mid-April and are due to be replaced by a new crew in October after a six-month mission.

Source: Xinhua