KOROLYOV, Moscow Region. Feb 26 (Interfax-AVN) - The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) will prepare the Progress M-54 cargo spacecraft for undocking and descent before March 3, the Russian Mission Control Center told Interfax-Military News Agency.
"The ISS crew will continue loading wastes and outdated equipment on the Progress. The 54th Progress spacecraft's undocking is scheduled for March 3, and the ship will be subsequently drowned in the Pacific Ocean," head of the center's press service Valery Lyndin said.
According to him, Russia's Valery Tokarev is mostly busy loading the Progress ship. "U.S. astronaut William McArthur will spend these days preparing the equipment from the U.S. and Russian ISS segments for the return to Earth. The equipment is expected to be taken away by the U.S. space shuttle, which is to be launched in May," Lyndin noted.
According to him, the command to undock the Progress will be made at about 1:00 p.m. Moscow time (1000 GMT) on March 3. After that the spacecraft will make a controlled descent. Its elements that will fail to burn in dense atmosphere layers will fall down in the Pacific Ocean.