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A Russian spacecraft delivered fuel, food and other supplies Tuesday to the International Space Station in record time.
As expected, the Progress MS-09 took off at 3:15 am (21:51 GMT, 17:51 EDT Monday) from the Baikonur cosmodrome rented by Russia to Kazakhstan. The unmanned spacecraft loaded nearly three tons of supplies, docked at the station less than four hours after its launch.
It was the first time that such a fast method was used. In the past, Progress ships took up to two days to reach the station.
The Russian space agency Roscosmos said the fastest maneuver was possible thanks to a new version of the Soyuz rocket engine, noting that he had placed the spacecraft in orbit more precisely.
NASA stated that the intention to make a quick trip to the station was to test the accelerated capacity that could be used in future cargo launches and the crew.
"This is a new achievement of our engineers," said Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin on state television. After being tested on untreated Progress ships, the new fast voyage could also be used by the Soyuz spacecraft with crew members carrying equipment up to the station.
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