Cargo spacecraft undocks, orbits the ISS

Houston -- A Progress 25 cargo spacecraft was orbiting the International Space Station Wednesday after undocking Tuesday evening, NASA said.

The undocking was in preparation for the arrival of a new Soyuz cargo ship, as well as space shuttle Discovery next month.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration controllers in Houston said Progress 25 will orbit a safe distance from the space station for a week, enabling Russian engineers to perform propulsion tests on the cargo craft before it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere and is incinerated over the Pacific Ocean.

On Thursday the Expedition 15 crew will enter the Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft, undock from the Zarya's Earth-facing port and relocate the ship to the Zvezda service module's aft port. On Oct. 12, Expedition 16 will arrive at the International Space Station in a Soyuz TMA-11 for a crew swap.

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Copyright 2007 by United Press International.