Soyuz Progress. Today sees the start of my next ABIS (America Back Into Space) story arc. With the eyes of the world squarely focused on NASA and the various programmes which have been created by Robert L Carter to get America Back Into Space, the world seems to have forgotten that the day to day life of the world’s largest orbiting scientific platform, the International Space Station, still has to continue for the station to carry out its role as a centre for scientific study off planet. Whilst station crew rotations are performed using the Russian Soyuz three person crew capsule, supplies to the station are lifted aloft using the cargo carrying variant of Soyuz – Progress. The latest Progress cargo carrier has just lifted off and is even now making its way toward orbit and a docking with the station far above. Progress has been updated since its first flight into space many years ago and now has its own Launch Escape System (LES) to ensure that if a fault does occur between lift-off and orbital insertion an attempt can be made to save its precious supply cargo. Meanwhile in America the incredible success of the first test flight of NASA’s new Cocoon Cargo Carrier and the orbital ballet played out by NASA’s three orbital shuttles with the Cocoon’s dummy payload, an event which was witnessed by millions on the Earth far below, has motivated Robert Carter to try and move up his timetable for NASA launches so that the next phase of his programme to take America back into space can be accelerated. To do this Carter will need the approval of the Aero-Space Certification Board, the body which oversees the test flights of all new space and aero-space craft before granting them the certificate which will allow them to go fully operational. Normally the Aero-Space Certification Board would require that Cocoon complete a total of three test flights successfully before granting the all important certificate, but the unparalleled success of the first test flight has led Carter to make a direct appeal to the Board to allow Cocoon to carry an actual payload on its next test flight rather than the dummy payload it would normally be required to carry. Carter’s direct appeal to the Board for Cocoon to carry an actual payload is based on three premises:- 1. The unparalleled success of the first test flight 2. If the second test flight fails its will be NASA’s huge financial loss and no one else’s 3.The payload to be carried into space will not be one of a combustible nature. The Board hears Carter's appeal and after taking a full seven days to review all the data from the first test flight, including the hours of video footage of the ballet played out by the orbital shuttle fleet, finally agree to Carter’s request for the next test flight of Cocoon to carry an actual payload into space.