Progress M1-7 To Deliver Kolibri Small Satellite To ISS

The Progress M1-7 cargo ship will deliver to the International Space Station a cargo for cosmonauts and a Kolibri small satellite. The launch is scheduled for Monday, 09:24 p. m. Moscow time, Valeri Lyndin, Chief of the Press Service of the Russian Mission Control, said Monday. He added that the satellite would be subsequently launched from the ISS. First, it will be installed on the docking unit and then, it will undock from the ISS together with the Progress M1-7. When the vehicle and satellite have separated, the latter will start "an autonomous orbital flight." Due to the small weight, the speed of slowing down in the Earth's atmosphere will be low ensuring a relatively long service life notwithstanding the low orbit (approximately 400 km over the Earth.) The satellite is equipped with scientific devices for various kinds of research. The Kolibri satellite is a modification of a de-commissioned military communications satellite.