Among the items is a giant space mirror designed to reflect light on sun-starved northern cities.

The Progress cargo ship was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakstan.

It is due to dock with Mir on Tuesday, bringing fuel, food, water, New Year's gifts and the experimental space mirror.

The space mirror is expected to be unfurled in February, when Progress is jettisoned from Mir.

The mirror, about 100 feet in diameter, is a membrane covered with a metal layer that, in theory, should reflect sunlight onto some of the chilly reaches of Russia during the long nights.

Mirror in the skies

Damaged several times

It is expected to serve as an experimental prototype for larger mirrors that might be sent up in the future.

The cargo ship will also bring several kits of scientific equipment, including a Russian-French device to be installed on Mir's exterior by cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Avdeyev in November.

The device is designed to collect data about meteorites when Mir flies through a meteorite cloud in mid-November.

The launch had been delayed for 10 days until the cash-strapped Russian Government could afford it.

Mir has suffered a number of problems in recent years including a collision during a docking manoeuvre in June last year, its worst accident in 12 years in space.

But the craft has suffered few serious problems in recent months and is due to remain in space until midway through next year.