(30 Oct 2011) SHOTLIST
1. Rocket engines ignite, spacecraft lifts off UPSOUND (English) +++continues under shot 2+++"... and lift off. Lift off of the Soyuz booster and the Progress 45 resupply ship bound for the International Space Station."
2. Close of rocket engines with flames, rocket disappearing into the distance as it ascends. Booster rockets separate along with first stage separation
STORYLINE
A Russian cargo ship was launched successfully to the International Space Station on Sunday, clearing the way for the next manned mission and easing concerns about the station's future after a previous failed launch.
The unmanned Progress M-13M blasted off as scheduled from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and successfully reached a designated orbit.
The cargo ship is expected to dock at the station on Wednesday.
A Progress launch failure in August, which was blamed on an "accidental" manufacturing flaw, cast doubts about future missions to the station, because the upper stage of the Soyuz booster rocket carrying the cargo ship to orbit is similar to that used to launch astronauts.
The next Soyuz launches were delayed pending the outcome of the probe.
NASA warned that the space station - continuously manned for nearly 11 years - would need to be abandoned temporarily if a new crew could not be launched by mid-November.
The Russian spacecraft serves as the only link to the station after NASA retired the space shuttle fleet in July.
Sunday's Progress mission was the second successful launch of a Soyuz booster rocket after the August mishap.
Earlier this month, another Soyuz rocket launched the first two satellites of the European Union's Galileo navigation system from the Kourou launchpad in French Guiana.
The launches followed inspections, which required the rocket engines to be sent back to manufacturers for close examination.
The August crash was the latest in a string of spectacular launch failures that raised concerns about the condition of the nation's space industries.
The Russian space agency said it would establish its own quality inspection teams at rocket factories to tighten oversight over production quality.
A new crew is now expected to be launched to the space outpost on 14 November.
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