Moscow, Feb 12 (IANS): Russian cargo spaceship Progress M-18M has blasted off for the International Space Station (ISS) from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan, federal space agency Roscosmos said.
An unmanned Soyuz-U rocket is carrying the Progress freighter.
The Progress spaceship carries over 2,500 kg of consignment, including fuel, food, water, oxygen and various scientific and sporting equipment for the ISS crew.
It will also deliver Russian flags to the orbiting station.
The current ISS crew comprises three Russians, two Americans and one Canadian.
The cargo spacecraft is travelling along the fast-track trajectory, which takes only six hours to reach the ISS.
For that, the Mission Control will conduct four correcting manoeuvres.
This is only the third time that the Mission Control is using the fast-track docking instead of the traditional two-day travels.