A Russian cargo ship filled with extra food, water and equipment to repair and upgrade life support systems is being prepared for launch to the International Space Station, NASA officials said on Thursday. The supplies will not only build up the reserves for the station's live-aboard crew, but help prepare the outpost in case it needs to serve as a temporary shelter for visiting space shuttle astronauts. NASA plans to dispatch in May its first shuttle to the space station since the Feb. 1, 2003, Columbia accident grounded the remaining fleet. A panel investigating the Columbia disaster determined that NASA should always have an option for rescuing astronauts whose ship is too damaged to return home. Columbia was holed in its left wing by a piece of falling foam insulation from the external fuel tank at liftoff and disintegrated on reentry, killing seven astronauts. --More 0049 Local Time 2149 GMT
