Progress M-56 cargo ship launched from Baikonur

MOSCOW, April 24 (RIA Novosti) - A Progress M-56 cargo ship with equipment, fuel, oxygen, drinking water and food on board has been launched from the Baikonur space center, a Mission Control official said Monday.

"The total weight of cargo to be delivered to the orbit [of the International Space Station] is some 2,600 kg," the official said, adding that a golf club and a ball were also being delivered there for a game of "cosmic golf."

Russia leases the Baikonur space center from the Central Asian former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.