Cargo Ship for Mir Finally Is Launched

Russia launched a cargo ship to the Mir space station, just two days after resolving a dispute with Kazakhstan over the use of a launch site. The Progress supply ship took off Friday evening from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Interfax news agency reported. It is carrying food, fuel and equipment for Mir’s three-man crew, which is scheduled to return to Earth in late August. The launch had been scheduled for Wednesday but was delayed indefinitely when Kazakhstan banned the use of the cosmodrome after a Proton booster rocket carrying a Russian military satellite exploded shortly after takeoff July 5. Kazakhstan said the ban was linked to environmental damage and other problems the Central Asian nation suffers as a result of launches, but Russian media have said it was an attempt to force Russia to pay its debt for leasing the cosmodrome.