[6] On 18 October 2010, Progress M-08M cargo vehicle was loaded with propellant components and compressed gases, and returned to the integration and test facility for further processing.

[7] With Designers' inspection of Progress M-08M completed, the spacecraft was transported to the launch vehicle integration facility for further assembly with the Soyuz-U rocket.

Progress M-08M hauled 2572 kg of cargo supplies including water, air, fuel and hardware for Molniya-Gamma and Coulomb Crystal [10] experiments to the space station.

The spacecraft also carried high-speed data transmission equipment to be installed on the outer surface of the space station during a spacewalk by cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Dmitri Kondratyev in January 2011.

In addition to the standard rations, the food boxes contain fresh fruits and vegetables – lemons, apples, onions, tomatoes, and 1 kg of garlic.

Progress M-08M successfully achieved the preliminary orbit of (192.46 by 242.99 kilometres, inclination 51.4°, period 88.57 minutes) after a nine-minute ascent provided by the three-stage Soyuz-U rocket.

A late DAM performed on 26 October 2010 slightly changed the station's orientation in space and the planned docking had to be brought forward by a couple of minutes.

A brief stationkeeping hold with about 200 metre between the spacecraft and space station allowed Russian flight controllers to assess systems before giving approval to commence the final approach.

During stationkeeping, flight controllers in Moscow instructed cosmonaut Aleksandr Kaleri to activate the TORU manual docking equipment and take over the piloting tasks from the Progress' autonomous KURS system.

[19] Kaleri worked inside the space station's Zvezda module to fly Progress M-08M remotely using television views and a pair of joysticks and guided it to the successful docking.