Новости МКС

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http://spacenews.com/with-kestrel-eye-satellite-on-deck-for-deployment-army-gears-up-for-direct-tasking-exercises/

With Kestrel Eye satellite on deck for deployment, Army gears up for direct-tasking exercises
by Caleb Henry — October 11, 2017


The U.S. Army's Kestrel Eye satellite. Credit: U.S. Army

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army's experimental Kestrel Eye is scheduled to deploy Oct. 24 fr om the International Space Station to begin a two-year mission testing how the small satellite can speed the delivery of time-sensitive overhead imagery to soldiers on the ground, according to a senior Army official.

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The mission will influence whether the Army pushes ahead with its own smallsat Earth-observation constellation independent of what commercial operators are doing.

Thomas Webber, director of Army Space and Missile Defense Command's Technical Center, told SpaceNews the speed that soldiers can obtain satellite imagery today is substantially slower than desired.

"It could be hours, weeks or never that certain critical information is made available," he said Oct. 10 at the Association of the United States Army conference here. "What we are looking at with Kestrel Eye, the intent is to be able to have ... the ability to task and collect an image and download that image at the same pass. So now we are talking minutes to get information to the battlefield commander."

Kestrel Eye is a 50-kilogram satellite built by Adcole Maryland Aerospace capable of 1.5-meter imaging. A SpaceX Dragon capsule carried the satellite to the space station during a resupply mission that launched Aug. 14.

Webber said the Army leveraged commercial off-the-shelf technology for the satellite, but still views Army needs as substantially differentiated from the commercial sector.

"It's not so much the telescope that's better or the capability that's better, it's the speed at which that information gets taskable from a handheld device that a soldier has, to getting that image back to that soldier," he said.

To enable soldiers to task a satellite from the battlefield and directly download the requested imagery, the Army modified an inflatable antenna from GATR Technologies to track low-Earth orbit spacecraft, Webber said. Paired with a laptop, the antenna can command and control Kestrel Eye, making it easy to use in the field, he said.

Webber said Kestrel Eye also endured a high number of cyber vulnerability tests to protect the satellite from spoofing or other cyber threats.

For the first few months in space, Kestrel Eye will go through an in-orbit checkout, Webber said. After completion, he said the Army will use the satellite for a joint military utility assessment "that will go through about five different scenarios that they deemed important."

Each scenario will take several weeks, likely five to six, he said. After those, the remainder of the satellite's lifespan will be used to further show how a Kestrel Eye-type capability can support Army warfighting efforts.

Webber said the information gained from Kestrel Eye will help form the parameters for a larger constellation, should the Army choose to build one.

"What your requirements will be will drive how many satellites you would need, what different inclinations they would need to be in and what orbital planes, because it will be dependent upon wh ere you want to look and how often you want revisit time," he said.

The Kestrel Eye awaiting deployment from the International Space Station is the second version of the satellite. The Army never launched the first version, Webber said, because the satellite's structural design required a dedicated, vertical launch, and the Army was unable to secure one.

Webber said the Army doesn't plan to launch the first Kestrel Eye at this point, but might harvest the camera for a future mission.

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[tnt22]

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2017/10/13/station-cargo-mission-and-spacewalk-rescheduled/

Station Cargo Mission and Spacewalk Rescheduled
Posted on October 13, 2017 at 12:00 pm by Mark Garcia.


Astronaut Mark Vande Hei is pictured attached to the outside of the space station during a spacewalk on Oct. 10, 2017.

Roscosmos has rescheduled the launch of the Russian Progress 68 cargo spacecraft for Saturday, Oct. 14 at 4:46 am EDT (2:46 p.m. local time in Baikonur). The spacecraft is carrying almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the Expedition 53 crew aboard the International Space Station.

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Launch coverage on NASA TV will begin at 4:15 a.m. Following a 34-orbit, two-day trip, Progress will arrive at the Pirs docking compartment of the International Space Station for docking on Monday, Oct. 16, at 7:09 a.m., with NASA TV coverage beginning at 6:15 a.m.

In addition, NASA has rescheduled the Expedition 53 crew's third and final spacewalk in the current series to next Friday, Oct. 20. Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineer Joe Acaba will begin the spacewalk at approximately 8:05 a.m., and NASA TV coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m.

The tasks for the crew members to conduct have been adjusted. Bresnik and Acaba will replace a fuse on Dextre's enhanced orbital replacement unit temporary platform; install an enhanced HD camera on the Starboard 1 lower outboard truss; remove thermal insulation on two spare units to prepare those components for future robotic replacement work, if required; and replace a light on the Canadarm2's new latching end effector installed during the first spacewalk Oct. 5. The final lubrication of the new end effector and the replacement of a camera system on the Destiny Lab will be deferred for a future spacewalk.

To join the conversation about the space station activities online, follow @space_station on Twitter.

This entry was posted in Expedition 53 and tagged Canadarm2, European Space Agency, International Space Station, NASA, progress, Roscosmos, spacewalk on October 13, 2017 by Mark Garcia.

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/stationreport/2017/10/12/iss-daily-summary-report-10122017/

ISS Daily Summary Report – 10/12/2017
Posted on October 12, 2017 at 4:00 pm by HQ.

68P Launch and Dock Delay:

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68P was planned for launch at 04:30 AM Central time, but the launch was aborted during final countdown. Russian teams are looking into the cause of the abort. The next launch opportunity is Saturday morning at 03:47 AM Central, with docking two days later on Monday morning.

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Multi-Omics Sample Collections:

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A 52S crewmember collected saliva samples and completed a questionnaire for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Multi-Omics experiment. The samples were placed into the Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The Multi-omics analysis of human microbial-metabolic cross-talk in the space ecosystem (Multi-Omics) investigation evaluates the impacts of space environment and prebiotics on astronauts' immune function, by combining the data obtained fr om the measurements of changes in the gut microbiological composition, metabolites profiles, and the immune system.

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Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) Maintenance:

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The crew performed maintenance activities in the CIR by replacing a window and the CIR Interface Resource Ring (IRR) vent filter inside the combustion chamber due to fuel and combustion by-product buildup. The CIR is used to perform combustion experiments in microgravity. The CIR can be reconfigured easily on orbit to accommodate a variety of combustion experiments. It consists of an optics bench, a combustion chamber, a fuel and oxidizer management system, environmental management systems, and interfaces for science diagnostics and experiment specific equipment.

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Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) Configuration for Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments (ACME):

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The crew continued to conduct ACME insertion configurations that began yesterday, by disconnecting water umbilicals at CIR Z-Panel to remove water pressure from the rack and then remove the Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) Chamber Ins ert Assembly (CIA) from the CIR combustion chamber for the final time. The ACME chamber ins ert for the first set of test points was configured and connected in to the CIR combustion chamber. After the water umbilicals were reconnected to Z-Panel, the crew checked for leaks. The ACME investigation is a se t of five independent studies of gaseous flames to be conducted in the CIR. ACME's primary goal is to improve fuel efficiency and reduce pollutant production in practical combustion on Earth. Its secondary goal is to improve spacecraft fire prevention through innovative research focused on materials flammability.

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Fine Motor Skills (FMS):

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A 51S crewmember conducted a Flight Day 75 FMS session executed on a touchscreen tablet, wh ere the subject performed a series of interactive tasks. The investigation studies how fine motor skills are affected by long-term microgravity exposure, different phases of microgravity adaptation, and sensorimotor recovery after returning to Earth gravity. The goal of FMS is to answer how fine motor performance in microgravity trends/varies over the duration of a six-month and year-long space mission; how fine motor performance on orbit compares with that of a closely matched participant on Earth; and how performance trends/varies before and after gravitational transitions, including the periods of early flight adaptation, and very early/near immediate post-flight periods.

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Veg-03 Operations:

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The crew checked and photo documented the status of the plants in the Veggie facility, and evaluated the plant pillows to determine if additional watering was required. The Veg-03 investigation uses the Veggie plant growth facility to cultivate a type of cabbage, lettuce and mizuna which are harvested on-orbit with samples returned to Earth for testing. Organisms grow differently in space, from single-celled bacteria to plants and humans. Future long-duration space missions will require crew members to grow their own food, so understanding how plants respond to microgravity is an important step toward that goal. Veg-03 uses the Veggie plant growth facility to cultivate a type of cabbage, lettuce and mizuna which are harvested on-orbit with samples returned to Earth for testing.

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USOS Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) #46 Preparations:

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Today the crew reconfigured necessary EVA tools and resized an EVA Mobility Unit (EMU) in support of next week's EVA. The goals of this EVA include Removal and Replacement (R&R) of the degraded CP13 camera and lubrication of the Latching End Effector (LEE) B.

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Space to Ground: Quick Work: 10/13/2017

NASA Johnson

Опубликовано: 13 окт. 2017 г.

(1:49)

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Randy Bresnik‏Подлинная учетная запись @AstroKomrade 6 ч. назад

A #spacewalk selfie is harder than you´d think. Put on some oven mitts and try finding the shutter button!



6 ч. назад

.@Astro_Sabot riding the robotic arm 250mi (400km) high while replacing a camera/light group below @Space_Station during our 2nd #spacewalk.

[zandr]

https://iz.ru/648319/dmitrii-strugovetc/nauka-pridet-na-mks

Наука придет на МКС
«Роскосмос» упрощает требования для желающих провести эксперимент в космосе
Дмитрий Струговец
Со следующего года провести научный эксперимент на российском сегменте Международной космической станции (МКС) станет проще. Госкорпорация «Роскосмос» и Российская академия наук утвердили «План мероприятий по повышению эффективности использования МКС, в том числе на коммерческих условиях». Для этого потребуется поменять действующий ГОСТ по проведению экспериментов. Сегодня требования стандарта затрудняют участие в программе организаций не из ракетно-космической отрасли и не имеющих опыта проведения космических экспериментов. По мнению экспертов, вопрос назрел еще несколько лет назад и требует незамедлительного решения.

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Разработкой поправок в ГОСТ Р 52017-2003 «Аппараты космические. Порядок подготовки и проведения космического эксперимента» занимаются головная российская организация по пилотируемой программе Ракетно-космическая корпорация «Энергия» и основной научный институт ракетно-космической отрасли ЦНИИмаш.
— Предполагается, что в новой версии стандарта будут учтены предложения обеих организаций по упрощению процедуры подготовки научной аппаратуры к проведению космического эксперимента, в том числе в части военной приемки. Процедуры по внесению соответствующих изменений в ГОСТ предстоит завершить в первом полугодии 2018 года, — рассказали в пресс-службе госкорпорации «Роскосмос».
Основной причиной трудностей является положение, требующее от постановщика эксперимента самостоятельно оформлять документацию и адаптировать к необходимым требованиям научную аппаратуру. Не имеющий соответствующего опыта и ресурсов постановщик эксперимента обязан разработать и согласовать ряд строго регламентированных документов. Что приводит к длительным срокам и низкому качеству разработки необходимой документации, а это вызывает претензии со стороны военной приемки. 
Необходимость устранения замечаний, естественно, негативно сказывается на сроках проведения экспериментов. Одна подготовка эксперимента до отправки научного оборудования на орбиту в результате занимает несколько лет.
— У нас второй год подряд куцая программа научных экспериментов. В основном продолжаются эксперименты, которым несколько лет. Очень много договоров остановлено из-за жесточайшего контроля военной приемки. Очень много аппаратуры зависло, — прокомментировал ситуацию «Известиям» источник в ракетно-космической отрасли.
В качестве примера он привел данные о научной программе отправившейся 12 сентября на МКС очередной космической экспедиции. Программа ее полета насчитывает более 50 российских биологических, биотехнологических, геофизических, технических и медицинских экспериментов. Из них ни одного нового.
Как пояснили в госкорпорации, первый шаг к решению проблемы был сделан в 2015 году, когда «Роскосмос» до введения новой редакции ГОСТ техническую и технологическую организацию работ по экспериментам возложил на ЦНИИмаш. Институту поручили обеспечить организацию экспериментов, освободив от излишних задач научные коллективы.
К решению проблемы подключились все заинтересованные стороны: «Роскосмос», РКК «Энергия», ЦНИИмаш. Они объединили усилия для проведения испытания 3D-принтера для печати биоматериалов. В обычном графике подготовка такого эксперимента заняла бы четыре года, рассказали в РКК «Энергия». Но совместными усилиями время подготовки сократилось до года. 
После обкатки новой схемы ее планируется использовать для всех других коммерческих космических экспериментов, чтобы реализовать их в оптимальные сроки.
Проведение коммерческих экспериментов на российском сегменте МКС описано в стратегии госкорпорации «Роскосмос» до 2030 года в рамках решения задачи минимизации государственных расходов на обслуживание станции. Для этого госкорпорация намерена существенно расширить количество заказчиков экспериментов, предложить новые и более удобные условия проведения космических экспериментов, а также ввести для заказчиков экспериментов принцип одного окна.
Научный руководитель Института космической политики Иван Моисеев рассказал «Известиям», что вопрос об упрощении процедур доступа ученых на МКС и проведения новых экспериментов был поставлен еще 10 лет назад и до сих пор не решен.
— Впервые на высоком уровне этот вопрос всплыл где-то в 2007–2008 году, когда Федеральным космическим агентством (предшественник госкорпорации «Роскосмос») был проведен научно-технический совет, собравшийся для решения проблемы отсутствия необходимых экспериментов на МКС. Выяснилось, что нет прямого контакта между заказчиком экспериментов в лице РАН и исполнителем в лице «Роскосмоса». Видимо, тот процесс продолжает развиваться и дает свои плоды. Станцию сделали, а как ее использовать и привлечь ученых, не подумали, — сказал Иван Моисеев.
Обозреватель издания «Новости космонавтики» Игорь Лисов согласен, что упрощение процедуры допуска и согласован­ия экспериментов на МКС — пра­вильное и давно назр­евшее решение. В NASA, по его словам, обеспечением проведения экспериментов на МКС занимаются специализированные структуры, оставляя ученым саму науку.
— Нело­гично, что к экспери­ментам, проводимым людьми и контролируем­ым ими, применяются те же требования по надежности научной аппаратуры, что и для приборов, ко­торые должны работать полностью автономно на беспилотных апп­аратах. Кстати, в США этому уделяется большое внимание — МКС официально присвоен статус Национальной лаборатории, к кот­орой должен иметь до­ступ по запросу любой квалифицированный исследователь, а NASA или уполномоченные им коммерческие ком­пании обеспечивают необходимые ученым те­хнические, информаци­онные и юридические интерфейсы — как на борту, так и на Зем­ле, — рассказал он.

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По данным РКК «Энергия», начиная с 2000 года по декабрь 2016-го на МКС было завершено выполнение 83 экспериментов, 195 космических экспериментов находились в стадии реализации или наземной подготовки. Для выполнения этих научных работ на орбиту к декабрю 2016 года было доставлено 4,8 т грузов, на Землю возвращено 1,2 т.

[tnt22]

О трансляции ЦЭНКИ (2-я попытка пуска)

http://www.russian.space/306/

Прямая трансляция стыковки ТГК "Прогресс МС-07" с МКС

время:

16 октября 2017 13:20 - 14:30 (Московское время)

[tnt22]

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2017/10/14/cargo-mission-launches-carrying-food-fuel-and-supplies-to-station/

Cargo Mission Launches Carrying Food, Fuel and Supplies to Station
Posted on October 14, 2017 at 5:04 am by Mark Garcia.


The Russian Progress 68 cargo craft lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA TV

Carrying almost three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the International Space Station crew, the unpiloted Russian Progress 68 cargo spacecraft launched at 4:46 a.m. EDT (2:46 p.m. local time in Baikonur) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

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At the time of launch, the International Space Station was flying about 250 miles over the south Atlantic Ocean north of the Falkland Islands .

Less than 10 minutes after launch, the resupply ship reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned. The Expedition 53 crew will monitor key events during Progress 68's approach and docking.

Following a 34-orbit, two-day trip, Progress will arrive at the Pirs docking compartment of the International Space Station for docking on Monday, Oct. 16, at 7:09 a.m. NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin on NASA's website at 6:15 a.m

To join the conversation about the space station and Progress 68 online, follow @space_station on Twitter.

This entry was posted in Expedition 53 and tagged European Space Agency, International Space Station, NASA, progress, Roscosmos on October 14, 2017 by Mark Garcia.

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http://www.mcc.rsa.ru/progress_mc07.htm

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http://spaceflight101.com/progress-ms-07/progress-ms-07-successfully-launched-by-soyuz/

Soyuz Rocket Soars to Orbit with Progress Cargo Ship, set for Revised Two-Day Mission Profile
October 14, 2017


Photo: Roscosmos/Tsenki

Coming back from a rare ignition abort two days ago, Russia's Soyuz rocket shot into clear skies over the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Saturday with the Progress MS-07 cargo spacecraft headed to the International Space Station with fresh supplies for the six crew members in orbit.

The modernized Soyuz 2-1A rocket lifted off from Baikonur's Site 31/6 at precisely 8:46:53 UTC, turning to the north-east to drop the 7,428-Kilogram spacecraft off in the orbital plane of the Space Station, catching up from behind in an orbit 200 Kilometers below that of ISS. Separation of the cargo ship from its booster was confirmed eight minutes and 48 seconds into the flight, marking the beginning of a two-day trek to the orbiting laboratory with docking to the Pirs module planned on Monday.

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Progress MS-07 was originally planned to debut a new two-orbit rendezvous scheme, cutting the travel time to the Space Station by another two and a half hours compared to the currently-used four-orbit express flight profile. However, achieving a link-up in after just three and a half hours of flight time requires a precise orbital setup between the Space Station and Progress at the time the Station's orbital plane lines up with the remote Kazakhstan launch site.


Photo: RSC Energia

Known as orbital phasing, this setup was in place for a launch attempt on Thursday with ISS preparing to be in the right place at the right time via a small orbit correction on September 27th. Plans for the fast rendezvous went out the window when the Soyuz 2-1A rocket suffered a last second pad abort in the moments leading up to engine ignition – a rare event for any orbital launcher, especially so for the venerable Soyuz that is known for its punctuality.

Standing fully fueled atop its pad, Soyuz had enjoyed a smooth countdown on Thursday and had been handed full control of the countdown one minute before the planned launch time. Launch Controllers inside the bunker at the pad announced the Launch Command had gone through at T-20 seconds, immediately followed by Soyuz moving into an automated AVD abort moments before the firing of engine igniters.


Progress MS-07 during final Processing – Photo: RSC Energia

According to knowledgeable sources on the Russian Novosti-Kosmonavtiki forum, the automatic abort was triggered due to a connector within the VKM umbilical mast – the lower of the two masts retracting before liftoff – triggering the AVD abort as the VKM remained attached to the vehicle. Roscosmos did not provide any details on corrective action implemented before Saturday's attempt.

Progress MS-07 – the 160th flight of a Progress craft since 1978 – is the third and final Russian resupply mission headed to the International Space Station this year, carrying the typical mix of food, fuel and supplies to the orbiting complex that recently stepped down from three to two permanent Russian crew members, a cost-saving measure enabling the reduction of annual Progress flights from four to three. It is the third to last ISS cargo mission of the year with another two vehicles inbound to the U.S. Segment before the year is out – the Orbital ATK Cygnus OA-8 has been firmed up for a November 10 liftoff and the 13th regular flight of the SpaceX Dragon is looking at a late November liftoff.


Photo: RSC Energia

Progress MS-07 is the 70th Progress craft launched toward the International Space Station over its two-decade career and is currently the only craft capable of delivering propellant to the complex and assisting the Station's propulsive needs in periodic reboost maneuvers. These also double as phasing burns to set up for fast-track rendezvous maneuvers that debuted in 2012 and have become the preferred method for ferrying crews to their destination in space in a matter of hours instead of having to endure two-day trips aboard the cramped Soyuz craft.

With plans for a two-orbit approach falling through for this mission, it will be up to a future Progress craft to demonstrate the new flight profile which will utilize a combination of plane-change and altitude-raising maneuvers to enable a faster link-up with ISS while keeping propellant and phasing requirements within manageable margins. Once proven by Progress, the two-orbit profile will be introduced for the Soyuz to shorten an arriving crew's first flight day which, with the current profile, is usually longer than 20 hours.


Photo: Roscosmos/Tsenki

Saturday's Progress mission also served as a rehearsal for future crewed Soyuz launches atop the modernized Soyuz 2-1A rocket that replaced the retired Soyuz U earlier this year and will do the same with the Soyuz FG rocket in 2019.

According to reporting by Russianspaceweb.com, Progress MS-07 rehearsed the launch sequence for crewed Soyuz launches on the Soyuz 2-1A by rotating the launch table at Site 31/6 to an azimuth of 60 degrees to test out the vehicle's flight control response to these changing starting conditions.

Rotating the Soyuz launch table was common practice for the early Soyuz variants that featured analog flight control systems which were unable to execute a roll maneuver after launch and essentially needed to be pointed to the correct departure path. Soyuz 2 – featuring upgraded digital systems – has the ability to roll onto the correct azimuth in flight; however, when paired with Soyuz will use the heritage launch abort system which is non-flexible and pulls the capsule away along a pre-determined direction relative to the launch vehicle coordinate system – thus still requiring the launch table to be pointed to the correct abort direction.

>> Soyuz 2-1A Launch Vehicle Overview


Photo: Roscosmos/Tsenki

Being turned around after its last-second abort, Soyuz re-started countdown operations at sun-up on Saturday with a series of final checks while teams went through tanking preparations. The Russian State Commission provided clearance to load the vehicle with propellants over a two-hour sequence picking up at T-4 hours.

Soyuz received some 274 metric tons of rocket-grade Kerosene and -183°C Liquid Oxygen oxidizer, taking on a new color scheme as the outside of its tanks froze over. Additionally, engineers loaded the boosters with highly reactive Hydrogen Peroxide to drive the engine turbopumps while Liquid Nitrogen was pumped into spherical tanks to be heated up during flight to keep the propellant tanks at pressure.

The 46-meter tall rocket was revealed on its pad at T-50 minutes when the two halves of the Service Structure were lowered, initiating the final steps leading into the start of the Automated Countdown Sequence six minutes before launch.


Photo: Roscosmos/Tsenki

Progress was running on internal power when Soyuz entered its final countdown sequence with the purge of the engine system to ensure a clean ignition, the pressurization of all 12 tanks on the vehicle and the handoff to internal power and control at T-1 minute.

The Launch Command was sent at T-20 seconds and both umbilical masts, KZM and VKM, moved away from the rocket as the vehicle cleared Thursday's abort point. Coming to life, Soyuz first spun up its engine pumps and went to an initial thrust level before throttling to a total launch thrust of 422 metric tons, overcoming counterweights to lift the 310-metric ton vehicle off the ground.

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At the moment of liftoff, marked at precisely 8:46:53.478 UTC, the International Space Station was half a world away, flying over the South Atlantic Ocean – showcasing what a difference a two-day delay can make on the phase angle between the chasing spacecraft & its target when aiming for an in-plane launch. For a two-orbit rendezvous, ISS would have been just 165km from the launch site at the moment of liftoff.

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Rumbling away from Baikonur, Soyuz entered its pitch maneuver to get aligned with the typical north-easterly trajectory taking it toward the Russian-Kazakh border.


Photo: Roscosmos/Tsenki


Photo: Roscosmos/Tsenki

Burning 1,600 Kilograms of propellant every second of powered flight, Soyuz ascended into clear skies over the remote Cosmodrome, passing the speed of sound and encountering Maximum Dynamic Pressure one minute into the flight. The four liquid-fueled boosters, each generating 838kN of thrust with a four-chamber RD-107A engine, finished their job one minute and 58 seconds after liftoff, having helped accelerate the vehicle to a speed of 1.5 Kilometers per second. Jettisoned from the still-firing core stage, the 19.6-meter long boosters swung outward and tumbled toward a crash landing 348 Kilometers from Baikonur.

Climbing out of the discernible atmosphere, Soyuz relied on the RD-108A engine on the core stage, delivering a vacuum thrust of 990 Kilonewtons. Three minutes and three seconds into the flight, Soyuz split open and jettisoned its protective launch shroud – as would also be the case for a crewed Soyuz 2-1A mission as opposed to holding the shroud until third stage operation which had been the procedure for previous Progress launches atop the 2-1A version.

The core stage exhausted its 91-tonne propellant supply four minutes and 46 seconds into the flight, shutting down its engine and kicking off the hot-staging sequence. The RD-0110 engine of the third stage began firing through a truss structure between the stages before the separation pyros were initiated to allow the Block I to pull away from the spent core and continue powered flight toward orbit.

>> Progress MS Spacecraft Overview



Ten seconds into Block I's operation, the three aft section covers were jettisoned to fully expose the engine section with its four main nozzles and four gimbaled verniers delivering stabilization. The third stage fired for three minutes and 58 seconds, generating 298 Kilonewtons of thrust to push the Progress into orbit with spacecraft separation occurring eight minutes and 48 seconds after launch.

Immediately after separation, Progress executed time-tagged commands to deploy its two power-generating solar arrays and the KURS navigation antennas, events closely watched by Mission Control Moscow, as was the pressurization of the Unified Propulsion System to ensure the spacecraft was ready to begin maneuvering. While passing over tracking stations in Russia's far east, Progress began an initial checkout of its flight control and KURS systems before embarking on the first of 34 orbits until reaching the Space Station.


Photo of a Progress Craft docking to the Pirs Module – Photo: NASA/ESA

Sticking to the conventional two-day rendezvous profile used since the days of the Mir Space Station, Progress will be tasked with a pair of orbit-raising maneuvers on its third lap around the planet. Parameters for these firings of the 300-Kilogram-force KTDU main propulsion system will be re-calculated based on measured orbital parameters and uplinked to the Progress after its first lap around Earth.

An orbital fine-tuning maneuver on Sunday will tune the craft's course to be in the correct position for the initiation of the Automated Rendezvous Sequence Monday morning to move into the immediate neighborhood of the Space Station under guidance by the KURS radio navigation system. Progress MS-07 will make a slow lap around the Station starting at a distance of 400 meters to line the spacecraft up with the Pirs docking compartment for a straight-in approach covering the last 180 meters to docking – planned at 11:09:57 UTC per the latest trajectory calculations.

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Russian Cargo Craft Launches for Journey to International Space Station

NASA

Опубликовано: 14 окт. 2017 г.

The unpiloted Russian ISS Progress 68 cargo craft launched to the International Space Station Oct. 14 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Progress carried almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the Expedition 53 crew on the station. The spacecraft was scheduled to make a quick, two-orbit journey to the station.

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/10/14/soyuz-progress-ms-07-launch/

Progress cargo freighter begins two-day trek to space station
October 14, 2017 Stephen Clark

Editor's Note:  Upd ated at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT) after confirmation of successful launch.


Credit: TsENKI TV/Spaceflight Now

A Russian Progress freighter carrying nearly three tons of fuel, cargo and supplies for the International Space Station took off from Kazakhstan Saturday, two days after an uncommon last-minute abort for its Soyuz booster.

The unpiloted Progress MS-07 supply ship launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 0846:53 GMT (4:46:53 a.m. EDT; 2:46:53 p.m. Baikonur time) Saturday to kick off a two-day pursuit of the orbiting research laboratory flying 250 miles (400 kilometers) above the planet.

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A launch attempt Thursday was halted in the final minute of the countdown, a rare occurrence in the Russian space program. Russian officials have not publicly disclosed the reason for Thursday's abort.

The scrubbed launch forced Russian officials to discard plans to send the Progress MS-07 spacecraft on an express trip to the space station, which would have resulted in docking with the research lab's Pirs module three-and-a-half hours after liftoff, a record-fast journey to the orbiting outpost.

But the expedited approach requires a special alignment between the Baikonur launch base and the space station's orbit, conditions that were not available Saturday. A maneuver to adjust the station's orbit in late September was programmed to make the fast-track rendezvous possible for Thursday's launch attempt.

Russian managers want to launch future station crews on similar quick trips to reduce workloads for cosmonauts and ground controllers, and to allow crews to get out of the cramped quarters of their Soyuz capsules sooner.

Station crews typically launch on trajectories that take them to their destination in about six hours, but two-day trips were the standard early in the space station program until Progress missions started testing accelerated approaches in 2012, followed by adoption on Soyuz crew flights in 2013.

But the expedited rendezvous profiles are only possible when the space station is very close to the launch site, and the laws of astrodynamics dictate a two-day, 34-orbit rendezvous after Saturday's liftoff, leading to an automated radar-guided linkup with the Pirs docking compartment Monday at 1109 GMT (7:09 a.m. EDT).

A Soyuz-2.1a rocket sent the Progress supply ship aloft toward the northeast from Launch Pad No. 31 at the historic Central Asia spaceport.

Four kerosene-fueled strap-on boosters shut down and jettisoned around two minutes after liftoff, and the Soyuz core stage continued firing until nearly T+plus 5 minutes. A third stage RD-0110 engine ignited to propel the Progress MS-07 spacecraft into a preliminary orbit.

The Progress supply ship separated from the Soyuz third stage around nine minutes into the mission, then immediately unfurled two power-generating solar array wings and a suite of navigation antennas, according to NASA.

Multiple engine firings Saturday and Sunday will fine-tune the Progress spacecraft's trek to the space station, and the cargo craft's on-board computer will start an automated rendezvous sequence around 0848 GMT (4:48 a.m. EDT) Monday. The supply ship will approach the station with the aid of a Kurs rendezvous radar, then align itself with the Pirs docking compartment for the final linkup.

The Progress MS-07 spacecraft will deliver around 2.9 tons (2.7 metric tons) of supplies and provisions.

The payload includes 1,940 pounds (880 kilograms) of propellant to refuel the station's Zvezda service module, 51 pounds (23 kilograms) of oxygen and 53 pounds (24 kilograms) of air to replenish the station's atmosphere, 926 pounds (420 kilograms) of water, and 2,976 pounds (1,350 kilograms) of dry cargo, food, spare parts and other equipment for the station's six-person crew.

Once the Progress arrives at the station, Expedition 53 commander Randy Bresnik and flight engineer Joe Acaba will prepare for a spacewalk Friday, Oct. 20, to accomplish a variety of maintenance tasks outside the complex. Their duties will include the replacement of a fuse on the station's Canadian-built Dextre robot, replace an external camera and light fixture, and remove thermal insulation from two spare units to prepare them for future relocation.

The spacewalk was previously scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 18, but NASA rescheduled the excursion and juggled some of the astronauts' tasks. The planned lubrication of the robotic arm's new end effector, or hand, will be completed on a future spacewalk.

The Progress MS-07 spacecraft is se t to remain at the space station until March, when it will undock and re-enter Earth's atmosphere, burning up over the South Pacific Ocean.

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Пуск РКН «Союз-2.1а» с ТГК «Прогресс МС-07»

Телестудия Роскосмоса

Опубликовано: 14 окт. 2017 г.

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Сергей Рязанский‏Подлинная учетная запись @SergeyISS 8 ч. назад

Летний #Иркутск, столица Восточной Сибири и отправная точка для путешествия к самому глубокому и чистому озеру на планете

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Intl. Space Station‏Подлинная учетная запись @Space_Station 7 ч. назад

Watch @NASA TV Monday at 6:15am ET to see Russian cargo ship dock to station at 7:09am with nearly 3 tons of gear. https://www.nasa.gov/live 

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ISS Updates‏ @ISS101 4 мин. назад

Flyaround - Progress MS-07 now completing a slow lap around the Space Station to line up with the Pirs docking compartment. Continuing on auto pilot.