The Russian cargo spaceship Progress M-02M undocked from the International Space Station (ISS)and began autonomous flight, the Mission Control Center outside Moscow said on Tuesday.
The cargo spaceship loaded with refuse collected aboard the ISS undocked from the station in an automatic mode at around 22:30 Moscow time (1830 GMT), the Itar-Tass news agency reported, citing a source from the flight control center.
The freighter will help the ISS crew to test the new docking unit on July 12. The spaceship has little fuel left due to the test, said the source.
The freighter will then take part in several scientific experiments and splash down into a designated area in the Pacific Ocean.
Once the spacecraft left, the Soyuz TMA-14 manned spaceship will move from the Zvezda service module to the Pirs module, which is slated for early July.
In the first half of June, ISS crew members conducted two spacewalks aiming to install necessary equipment outside the Zvezda service module for the docking of Russia's small research module MIM-2, a space vehicle due to blast off in November.
Progress M-02M blasted off on May 7 from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, and has delivered some 2.5 tons of supplies for the ISS crew members, including food, water, fuel, clothes and equipment, as well as the third Orlan-MK space suit.
The spacecraft is equipped with a modern digital control system, which enables it to dock with the ISS more accurately.
Source:Xinhua
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