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An unpiloted Russian resupply ship, loaded with almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the six crew members on the International Space Station, linked up to the orbital laboratory's Pirs docking compartment Aug. 1. The successful docking wrapping up an accelerated six-hour trip after launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The ISS Progress 48 craft lifted off at 3:35 p.m. EDT (1:35 a.m. Aug. 2 Baikonur time), and just six hours later, automatically docked to the station. The amended rendezvous was designed to test a method for conducting additional firings of the Progress engines early in its mission to expedite the time required for a Russian vehicle to reach the complex. After analysis by Russian engineers and managers, the technique could be applied to manned Soyuz vehicles in the future to improve crew comfort and extend the life of the Soyuz return vehicle while docked to the international outpost.