Last old-modeled Russian cargo spaceship undocks from ISS

MOSCOW, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The last Russian cargo spacecraft with the outdated analogue control system, Progress M-67, successfully undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday and began its autonomous flight, said a spokesman for the Mission Control Center outside Moscow.

The spacecraft loaded with the garbage collected from the ISS undocked from the Zvezda service module at about 11:25 Moscow time(0725 GMT), said Valery Lyndin.

The spacecraft will then temporarily serve as an orbital laboratory for a week to conduct a series of geophysical experiments under the Plasma-Progress program, before plunging into a "spaceship cemetery" in the southern Pacific, he said.

Progress M-67 arrived at the ISS on July 29, bringing 2.5 tons of supplies including fuel, water, and various equipment. It is the last spacecraft with the analogue control system.

The new generation of Progress vehicles, such as Progress M-01Mand Progress M-02M, which have been successfully launched by Russia in the last two years, is digitally controlled and lighter in weight.

The new generation can also ensure more accuracy when docking with the space station.