MOSCOW, March 3 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian rocket filled with garbage from the International Space Station was deorbited and sunk in the Pacific at 4:53 p.m. Moscow time [1:53 GMT], a spokesman for Mission Control said.

At 4:05 p.m. the Progress-M54, which had reached the end of its service life, was given its last and only deceleration boost. The parts of the craft that did not burn up in the dense atmosphere layers sunk in a "spacecraft cemetery" at 40° longitude in the Pacific a short distance from Christmas Island. The Russian Mir station ended its life in the area in February 2000, after 15 years of service.

The next Progress cargo craft is to be launched on April 24 and should dock with the ISS on April 26. It will deliver food, water and equipment for scientific experiments and for the heating system.