A cargo and fuel freighter running on autopilot control successfully docked to the space station Friday afternoon, completing a two-day flight up to the orbiting complex.

The Russian-built Progress M-64 spacecraft connected to the Earth-facing port on the station's Zarya module at 5:39 p.m. EDT while flying just off the coast of Brazil at an altitude of 215 miles.

A few minutes later, hooks and latches engaged to firmly seal the Progress to the docking port.

"A flawless docking of the newest resupply ship to the international space station," NASA spokesman Rob Navias said.

It is the 29th Progress craft sent to the station.

The Expedition 17 crew of commander Sergei Volkov, flight engineer Oleg Kononenko and NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman plan to open the hatchway and enter the vessel around 7:30 p.m. EDT. They will begin unloading the cargo on Saturday.

Volkov and Kononenko have been living aboard the station for five weeks. Reisman has been a resident since shuttle Endeavour delivered him there in March.

The Progress is loaded with 4,657 pounds of supplies. The "dry" cargo amounts to 2,850 pounds in the form of spare parts, life support gear and equipment hardware.

The refueling module carries 772 pounds of propellant for transfer into the Russian segment of the complex to feed the station's maneuvering thrusters.

And the Progress has brought 926 pounds of water, 63 pounds of oxygen and 46 pounds of air.

The craft was launched atop a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. It will remain attached to the station until later this year when it's filled with trash and then discarded to burn up in the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, preparations continue at the Kennedy Space Center to ready shuttle Discovery for its upcoming mission to add the Japanese Kibo science laboratory module to the station. Senior managers will hold the executive-level Flight Readiness Review on Monday to affirm the official launch date, which remains targeted for May 31.

The launch countdown would begin at 3 p.m. EDT on May 28, a few hours earlier than had been planned. The change allows additional hold time to be added into the countdown timeline.

An updated chart showing the countdown is posted here.

Liftoff is targeted for 5:02 p.m. on May 31. The latest launch window chart is available here.

And our flight plan page has been updated to reflect the recent extension that added another day to Discovery's mission. You can see that here.