Russia's Progress 84 cargo ship dock live at space station hours after launch.

A robotic Russian cargo craft launched into orbit today (May 24) packed with more than 2 tons of fresh supplies for astronauts on the International Space Station.

The Progress 84 freighter lifted off atop a Soyuz 2.1 rocket from the Russia-run Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 8:56 a.m. EDT (1256 GMT). It was 5:56 p.m. local time at the time of liftoff.

The cargo ship's journey to the International Space Station will last less than 3.5 hours: Progress 84 is scheduled to dock with the orbiting lab's Poisk module at 12:20 p.m. EDT (1620 GMT) today. You can watch that off-Earth rendezvous here at Space.com as well.

Progress 84 is packed with 5,492 pounds (2,491 kilograms) of food, water, propellant, cosmonaut clothing and other supplies, NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said ahead of launch during live commentary. That cargo includes 3,399 pounds (1,542 kg) of dry cargo, 1,080 pounds (490 kg) of propellant, 926 pounds (420 kg) of water and 88 pounds (40 kg)of nitrogen.

Source: www.space.com

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