Cargo craft docks with space station
Robotic Progress ship brings fuel, supplies for future crews
By Anatoly
Zak
and Yuri Karash
SPACE.COMMOSCOW, Aug. 8 —
A Russian robot cargo ship filled
with fuel and supplies for the International Space Station automatically docked with the
orbiting outpost Tuesday.
THE SEVEN-TON Progress M1-3 spacecraft joined with the station at 4:13:05 p.m. ET
while the two spacecraft were flying 225 miles (362 kilometers) over Kazakhstan. The
operation was monitored by mission control specialists near Moscow using live TV cameras
installed aboard the cargo ship.
NASA flight controllers in Houston also watched over the event.
The Progress craft was launched Sunday from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, flying atop a three-stage Russian Soyuz rocket.
Although Russia used the Progress vehicles for more than two
decades to resupply its orbital outposts — including the Mir space station —
this is the first such mission to the new station.
Moreover, this Progress model is considered an improvement over
its earlier counterparts, Vladimir Solovyov, a senior Russian flight director and former
cosmonaut, told Space.com after the docking.
“This Progress is the third in a row of the same type of
spacecraft,” Solovyov said. “Its two predecessors have already flown to Mir.
“I would say that this type of Progress is certainly more
‘intellectual.’ It has better-developed software and computers, which assured a
more careful, smooth and precise docking of spacecraft with the station.”
SHUTTLE USED IN PAST
The U.S. space shuttle has been used in the past to deliver
equipment and supplies to the new space station, as well as to boost the outpost’s
orbital altitude.
However, Progress is the only vehicle that is able to refuel
the station’s propellant tanks. It will also be used to help raise the station’s
orbit, which slowly degrades due to the drag from the thin layer of air existing at this
altitude.
The cargo ship also carried a supply of dry cargo, including housekeeping items and
life-support equipment for future crews that will visit the International Space Station.
These supplies will remain stored onboard the Progress until the shuttle Atlantis visits
the station during a mission scheduled for early September.
Progress docked to the station at the rear port of the Zvezda
service module, the newest Russian element of the three-segment spacecraft. Zvezda docked
with the station July 26. The module’s propulsion system is currently used to
maintain the attitude of the entire outpost.
Other elements of the embryonic station include the
Russian-built and U.S.-financed Zarya control module and NASA’s Unity module. They
are attached to Zvezda via its front docking port. With the arrival of the Progress M1-3,
the mass of the new space station in orbit has grown to 67 tons, compared with around 40
tons before its docking with Zvezda.
JUST THE BEGINNING
Numerous other components for the International Space Station
will be launched during the next five years as part of a cooperative effort involving the
United States, Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan, Canada and Brazil.
Another Progress mission to the International Space Station is scheduled for liftoff on
Sept. 21. However, Solovyov said Russian space officials would like to wait until after
the first crew is launched to the station before sending another Progress up.
Having a crew on board would improve the odds for a successful
mission, Solovyov said.
Launch of the first three-person resident crew to the station
is planned for Oct. 30. The crew will be launched on a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur and
include one American and two Russians.
© 2000 Space.com. All rights reserved.
|