Supply ship sent to MIR station

Russia has launched an unmanned cargo spaceship carrying supplies for the crew of the MIR space station.

Russian mission Control said the Progress cargo ship, launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, would dock with MIR on Monday.

The supply ship is carrying food, water, fuel, scientific equipment and insulation for MIR's exit hatch, which developed a leak after the crew's last spacewalk early in November.

Mission control said the two Russians and the American on board would also receive Christmas presents.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service