Copy of the Valaam Icon of the Theotokos brought to International Space Station

Photo from www.valaam.ru

Cargo spaceship Progress-M-54 to bring miraculous Valaam icon to orbit

St.Petersburg, September 9, Interfax - The Progress-M-54 cargo spaceship launched from the Baikonur space center Thursday carries a miraculous Valaam icon of the Mother of God to the space station.

‘This small copy is officially listed among things loaded on space shuttle, press secretary of the Valaam Transfiguration Monastery Mikhail Shishkov informs Interfax.

According to him, the copy was painted in the Valaam monastery while the original was painted by Hieromonk Alipy Konstantinov in the late 19th century.

Progress-M-54 carries over 2,5 tons of different cargoes to the station: food, water and packages for spacemen Sergei Krikalev and John Phillips working on the orbit. The ‘truck’ will also deliver oxygen in special containers, fuel for the station, and research equipment for the experiments.