Its blast-off to the International Space Station is scheduled for 14:58, Moscow time, January 29, from Baikonur. Progress-ISS automatic docking is slated for 16:20, Moscow time, January 31, said the Mission Control Centre, located near Moscow.
After their day-off on Monday, the ISS crew has begun getting ready for the arrival of Progress.
Crewmen Alexander Kaleri and Michael Foale will check up the automatic rapprochement system Kurs and complete loading garbage and refuse into Progress M48: on January 28 it will be undocked from the ISS and de-orbited. On the same day, fragments of that space truck unburned in the dense atmosphere will be dumped in the "burial place" of spaceships in the estimated area in the Pacific.
The place of the Progress M48, now beyond its service life, at the ISS berth port will be taken by the improved double Progress M1-11. Two days after the blast-off, it will bring to the ISS fuel for its attitude-control engines, water, food and personal parcels for the crewmen. In about six months, this transport spaceship will follow the fate of its predecessor.
