Russian cargo ship Progress M-53 carrying supplies for the International Space Station (ISS) blasted into orbit early Friday from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazhakstan, the Russian space agency said.

The agency said in a statement the unmanned vessel carrying 2.5 tons of food, water and packages took off from the Baikonur cosmodrome at around 3:10 a.m.(2310GMT) and entered orbit shortly.

The ship is scheduled to dock with the orbiting space station on Saturday.

Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalyov and US astronaut John Phillips have been on the orbiting station since April.

Source: Xinhua