Before the shuttle Endeavour can receive final clearance for takeoff Friday afternoon, a Russian-made cargo freighter must make a smooth flight to the International Space Station.

Step number one was accomplished this morning when that unmanned resupply ship successfully launched atop a Soyuz booster from Kazakhstan at 9:05 a.m. EDT (1305 GMT).

The Soyuz rocket with Progress 42P stands on the launch pad. Credit: Energia

The preliminary orbit was achieved after a nine-minute ascent provided by the three-stage rocket, and onboard commands were issued to unfurl the craft's communications and navigation antennas and extend two power-generating solar arrays that span 35 feet.

A series of precise engine firings over the next two days will guide the Progress toward an automated rendezvous with the station. The docking is slated for Friday at 10:29 a.m. EDT (1429 GMT), just five hours and 18 minutes before Endeavour's scheduled launch.

Shuttle Endeavour's original April 19 launch date was postponed by 10 days to deconflict with this vessel's arrival. Flight controllers opted against having the freighter rendezvous with the station while the shuttle was there, forcing Endeavour to wait on the ground until after the Progress was launched and docked.

The 24-foot long ship will attach itself to the open port on the Pirs compartment, which was vacated last Friday when a previous Progress was jettisoned to burn up in the atmosphere.

Today's liftoff was known in the station's assembly matrix as Progress mission 42P. The spacecraft's formal Russian designation is Progress M-10M.

The craft will bring two-and-a-half tons of supplies to the station, continuing the constant stream of provisions sent up the orbiting complex. The "dry" cargo tucked aboard this Progress amounts to 2,976 pounds in the form of food, spare parts, life support gear and experiment hardware.

The refueling module carries 1,940 pounds of propellant for transfer into the Russian segment of the complex to feed the station's maneuvering thrusters. The vessel also has 926 pounds of water and 110 pounds of oxygen.

The space station is staffed by the Expedition 27 crew of commander Dmitry Kondratyev, Cady Coleman, Paolo Nespoli, Ron Garan, Andrey Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyaev.

The cosmonauts will be standing by Friday to take over manual control of the approaching Progress spacecraft if the autopilot experiences a problem. They spent time Tuesday reviewing procedures and conducting refresher training on the backup system just in case it is needed.

The following Progress freighter timeline shows the key events scheduled from launch until docking:

Day 1 events - Wednesday

Event	Mission Time	Eastern Time
LAUNCH	0/00:00:00	9:05:22 a.m.
Orbit Insertion	0/00:08:45	9:14:07 a.m.
Maneuver DV1 (18.98 m/s)	0/03:37:25	12:42:47 p.m.
Maneuver DV2 (4.08 m/s)	0/04:32:00	1:37:22 p.m.

Day 2 events - Thursday

Event	Mission Time	Eastern Time
Maneuver DV3 (2.00 m/s)	1/01:01:43	10:07:05 a.m.

Day 3 events - Friday

Event	Mission Time	Eastern Time
Start Automated Rendezvous	1/23:03:18	8:08:40 a.m.
DV4 / Impulse 1 (22.029 m/s)	1/23:24:51	8:30:13 a.m.
Impulse 2 (1.284 m/s)	1/23:47:02	8:52:24 a.m.
Progress Kurs-A activation	1/23:49:38	8:55:00 a.m.
Zvezda Kurs-P activation	1/23:51:38	8:57:00 a.m.
DV5 / Impulse 3 (23.837 m/s)	2/00:10:03	9:15:25 a.m.
Good Kurs-P data (Range 80 km)	2/00:14:58	9:20:20 a.m.
Orbital sunrise	2/00:30:01	9:35:23 a.m.
Kurs-A and Kurs-P short test (Range 15 km)	2/00:35:58	9:41:20 a.m.
Start Zvezda transmitter for TORU link (Range 9 km)	2/00:41:38	9:47:00 a.m.
Progress TV activation (Range 8 km)	2/00:42:58	9:48:20 a.m.
Start Progress receiver for TORU link (Range 3 km)	2/00:50:18	9:55:40 a.m.
Impulse 4 (6.538 m/s)	2/00:50:45	9:56:07 a.m.
TORU command link test (Range 2 km)	2/00:52:58	9:58:20 a.m.
Impulse 5 (5.221 m/s)	2/00:55:12	10:00:34 a.m.
Impulse 6 (2.308 m/s)	2/00:57:44	10:03:06 a.m.
Start flyaround	2/01:00:50	10:06:12 a.m.
Start stationkeeping	2/01:07:38	10:13:00 a.m.
Start final approach	2/01:12:38	10:18:00 a.m.
DOCKING	2/01:23:38	10:29:00 a.m.

Data source: NASA

Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE AT LAUNCH SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: COUNTDOWN PREVIEW BRIEFING PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: GUIDED TOUR OF SPACE STATION PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR MISSION PREVIEW MOVIE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: GET TO KNOW ENDEAVOUR'S ASTRONAUTS PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH MARK KELLY PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH GREG JOHNSON PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH MIKE FINCKE PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH ROBERTO VITTORI PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH DREW FEUSTEL PLAY
VIDEO: PRE-FLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH GREG CHAMITOFF PLAY

VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR CLEARED FOR APRIL 29 LAUNCH PLAY

VIDEO: EVACUATION DRESS REHEARSAL PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUTS BOARD ENDEAVOUR PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: SUITING UP FOR PRACTICE COUNT PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: SHUTTLE INSPECTED FOR STORM DAMAGE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW TEST-DRIVES PAD ESCAPE VEHICLE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ASTRONAUT CHAT AT THE PRESS SITE PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CREW ARRIVES FOR PRACTICE COUNT PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: PAYLOADS ARRIVE AT LAUNCH PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: CANISTER ROTATED UPRIGHT FOR PAD PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: PALLET OF SPARE PARTS INTO CANISTER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: AMS PAYLOAD PUT INTO TRANSPORTER PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND STATION PROGRAM BRIEFING PLAY
VIDEO: THE STS-134 MISSION OVERVIEW PRESENTATIONS PLAY
VIDEO: IN-DEPTH WITH ALPHA MAGNETIC SPECTROMETER PLAY
VIDEO: PREVIEW BRIEFING ON MISSION'S SPACEWALKS PLAY
VIDEO: THE ASTRONAUTS' PRE-FLIGHT NEWS BRIEFING PLAY

VIDEO: SUN RISES OVER THE LAUNCH PAD PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR ARRIVES ATOP PAD 39A PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ROLLOUT FROM VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: HOISTING ENDEAVOUR TO TANK AND SRBS PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ORBITER GOES VERTICAL PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR LEAVES PROCESSING HANGAR PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: PAYLOAD MEDIA DAY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: THE ALPHA MAGNETIC SPECTROMETER PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: PAYLOAD REMOVED FROM C-5 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: AMS ARRIVES FROM EUROPE PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: EXPRESS LOGISTICS CARRIER NO. 3 PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: HIGH-PRESSURE OXYGEN GAS TANK PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: PUTTING STATION ANTENNA ON CARRIER PLAY | HI-DEF

VIDEO: TANK UNLOADED TO ASSEMBLY BUILDING PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: THE EXTERNAL FUEL TANK ARRIVES PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: BOOSTER SEGMENT MOVED TO VAB PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SRB CEREMONY PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ENDEAVOUR FITTED WITH MAIN ENGINES PLAY | HI-DEF
VIDEO: ORBITER TOWED OFF RUNWAY PLAY | HI-DEF

MORE: STS-134 VIDEO ARCHIVE
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