The Russian space station Mir as seen by a U.S. space shuttle. Photo: NASA

Efforts to renovate the Russian space station Mir took another step forward on Tuesday when an unmanned supply vessel was launched toward the 14-year-old orbiting outpost.

The Progress M1-2 spacecraft was delivered to space atop a Soyuz rocket that lifted off at 2007 GMT (4:07 p.m. EDT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It will take two days for the freighter to reach Mir.

The launch was another critical achievement for MirCorp and the Russian company RSC Energia, which funded the Progress M1-2 flight. The partnership is trying to restart Mir for commercial ventures in the future. Mir was abandoned last August as the Russian space program started focusing primarily on the new International Space Station.

"We are delighted that MirCorp has once again met its technical milestone," MirCorp President Jeffrey Manber said. "With today's launch and last week's repair of the small air leak on Mir, we are well underway with the renovation of our first home in space."

The historic Mir commercial lease agreement signed in February called for the Progress M1-2 launch to be funded by MirCorp and RSC Energia.

"There were no funds provided from any government for the launch of Progress M1-2 to Mir," Manber said. "This is a truly commercial flight."

Progress M1-2 will arrive at the station's rear docking port, located on the Kvant-1 module, replacing the Progress M1-1 cargo craft attached to Mir since early April.

The Progress spacecraft are used to ferry supplies, equipment and other material to the space station. They also carry air and propellant for Mir, and the Progress' own engines/thrusters often are used for burns to change or correct the space station's orbit.

On Mir, the docking interface fasteners with Progress M1-1 were disassembled Tuesday afternoon, and cosmonauts Sergei Zalyotin and Alexander Kalery closed the transfer hatches between the spacecraft and Mir's Kvant module. The Progress M1-1 is scheduled to undock from Mir Wednesday at 1630 GMT (12:30 p.m. EDT), with the arrival of Progress M1-2 planned on Thursday at 2130 GMT (5:30 p.m. EDT) to take its place.

Progress M1-1 will be commanded to make a controlled destructive reentry in the Earth's atmosphere.