A new Progress supply ship (P25) blasted off for the International Space Station on Friday, carrying more than 2.5 tonnes of fuel, air, water and other supplies. The unpiloted ship is expected to link up automatically with the station on Tuesday, docking at the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module.
Once astronauts fully unload its cargo, they’ll fill it back up again with trash and other material from the space station. It’ll then undock and burn up through the Earth’s atmosphere on July 20, making the garbage disappear forever.
The Progress vessels are very similar to the piloted Soyuz spacecraft that the Russians use to launch cosmonauts, and serve as lifeboats for astronauts on board the International Space Station.
Original Source: NASA News Release