Cargo ship docks with International Space Station

Cargo ships docks with space station

MOSCOW — An unmanned Russian space capsule carrying tons of food, water and supplies to the International Space Station has docked with an orbiting laboratory Sunday.

A video feed from Russian mission control just outside Moscow reported the docking took place on automatic systems without problems at 3:58 p.m. (1258 GMT; 8:58 a.m. EDT).

Russian officials said the International Space Station with three Russian and three U.S. astronauts aboard was about 220 miles (350 kilometers) above Mongolia.

Officials say the cargo brought by a Progress capsule also included questionnaires for the Russian cosmonauts for next month’s national census, fresh fruit, DVDs and books for the crew.

The Progress ships have been the backbone of Russia’s unmanned cargo ship program.