Astronauts overcome logistics snafu

Astronauts overcome logistics snafu Taking air cargo to another level, a Russian spaceship on Sunday delivered a much-needed shipment of food and water to a Russian and an American astronaut onboard the international space station who had been rationing their dwindling supplies for several weeks.
   Russia’s Progress M-51 cargo ship took off Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with about 2.5 tons of equipment and supplies, including 5,000 pounds of pre-packaged meals and water, and successfully docked at the orbiting station, according to news reports.
   If the pilot less cargo ship had been unable to reach the space station, the two astronauts would have had to abandon the space station within two weeks. The Progress usually makes three to four deliveries per year.
   The shipment took on added importance after U.S. and Russian space officials discovered that the previous crew had depleted food supplies much more than normal. The astronauts had run out of fish and meat but had other food. A Russian official blamed previous crews for over-eating and leaving a deficit of meat and milk while leaving mostly staples (cereal and biscuits) and candy.
   Investigators are examining why the station’s food inventory was tracked so poorly.