Russia's Progress class space freighter automatically docked with the International Space Station just six hours after blasting off from Earth, a spokesman for the Mission Control said on Thursday.

A Soyuz-U rocket carrying the Progress-M-16M cargo spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan at 11:35 p.m. Moscow time (19:35 GMT).

The spacecraft docked with the ISS on the fourth revolution around Earth and six minutes ahead of the scheduled time that was set at 05:24 a.m. Moscow time (01:24 GMT).

It was for the first time, when Russia docked the space freighter with the ISS in the first six hours after the launch rather than in two days, which was a routine procedure.

Progress-M-16M delivered over 2.5 metric tons of supplies, including food, water and scientific equipment, to a six-man crew onboard the orbital station.

Russia Launches Space Freighter to Orbital Station
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Aug 01 - Russia launched on Wednesday a Progress class space freighter on a resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), Mission Control said.

A Soyuz-U rocket carrying the Progress-M-16M cargo spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan at 11:35 p.m. Moscow time (19:35 GMT), as scheduled.

For the first time Russia will attempt to dock the space freighter with the ISS in the first six hours after the launch rather than in two days, which is a routine procedure.

The docking is scheduled for 05:24 a.m. Moscow time (01:24 GMT) on the fourth revolution of the cargo spacecraft around Earth.

Progress-M-16M will deliver over 2.5 metric tons of supplies, including food, water and scientific equipment, to a six-man crew onboard the orbital station.

Its predecessor, the Progress M-15M, undocked from the ISS on Tuesday to conduct a three-week Radar-Progress experiment to define the physical characteristics of the ionosphere environment around the spacecraft caused by the operations of its liquid propellant engines.

After the mission, the Progress M-15M will be de-orbited and sunk in a designated area in the Pacific Ocean.

Russia to Deliver Supplies to Space Station in Record Time
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Aug 01 - For the first time Russia will attempt to deliver supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) in six hours rather than two days, Mission Control said on Wednesday.

The launch of a Soyuz-U rocket carrying the Progress M-16M space freighter is scheduled for 11:35 p.m. Moscow time (19:35 GMT) on Wednesday from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan.

"We are planning for the first time in the history of the ISS to carry out the docking of a space freighter with the orbital station within the first six hours of the flight," a Mission Control spokesman said.

"The docking is scheduled for 05:24 a.m. Moscow time [01:24 GMT] on the fourth revolution [of the space freighter] around Earth," the official said, adding that normally it takes two to three days for a Progress spacecraft to get to the ISS.

Progress M-16M will deliver over 2.5 metric tons of supplies, including food, water and scientific equipment, to a six-men crew onboard the orbital station.

Russia's Progress M-15M space freighter undocked from the ISS early on Tuesday on a three-week scientific mission before it gets drowned in the Pacific.

Source: RIA Novosti