NASA says it might use Russian rockets to deliver cargo to the ISS when its shuttle fleet is retired in 2010. The U.S. space agency says it will have to rely on Russian cargo ships if domestic companies fail to provide an alternative.
Meanwhile Russia has launched another space freighter, Progress, to the International Space Station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It's scheduled to dock with the orbiting station to deliver food, equipment and other supplies in two days' time. Russia’s Yury Malenchenko and U.S. astronauts Peggy Whitson and Daniel Tani are currently working onboard the ISS.