ISS Progress cargo spacecraft

The Progress is a Russian expendable freighter spacecraft. The spacecraft is unmanned during its flight but upon docking with a spacestation it allows astronauts inside, hence it is classified manned by the manufacturer ^[1][2][3]. It was derived from the Soyuz spacecraft, and is launched with the Soyuz launch vehicle. It is currently used to supply the International Space Station, but was originally used to supply Russian space stations for many years. There are three to four flights of the Progress spacecraft to the ISS per year. Each spacecraft remains docked until shortly before the new one arrives. Then it is filled with waste, disconnected, deorbited, and destroyed in the atmosphere. ISS Progress cargo spacecraft (NASA) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... ISS Progress cargo spacecraft (NASA) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft approaching the International Space Station Soyuz (Russian: Союз, pronounced sah-YOUS, meaning union) is a series of spacecraft designed by Sergey Korolyov for the Soviet Unions space program. ... Soyuz rocket on launch pad. ... ISS redirects here. ... The International Space Station in 2006 Computer-generated image of the completed International Space Station A space station is an artificial structure designed for humans to live in outer space. ...

It has carried fuel and other supplies to all the space stations since Salyut 6. The idea for the Progress came from the realisation that in order for long duration space missions to be possible, there would have to be constant source of supplies. It had been determined that a cosmonaut needed 30 kg of consumables a day; this equates to 5.4 tonnes over a six-month stay. It was impractical to launch this along with passengers in the small space available in the Soyuz. Salyut 6 was a Soviet space station launched on September 29, 1977. ... A tonne or metric ton (symbol t), sometimes referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. ...

Design

Progress is of much the same size and shape as Soyuz. It consists of three modules: Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft approaching the International Space Station Soyuz (Russian: Союз, pronounced sah-YOUS, meaning union) is a series of spacecraft designed by Sergey Korolyov for the Soviet Unions space program. ...

• A pressurised forward module. This carries the supplies for the crew such as scientific equipment, clothes, prepackaged and fresh food, and letters from home. The docking drogue is similar to that of the Soyuz but features ducting for the UDMH fuel and N₂O₄ oxidiser.
• A fuel compartment. The reentry module of the Soyuz was replaced with an unpressurized propellant and refueling compartment with ducting along the outside of the spacecraft. This meant that if a leak occurred, the poisonous gas would not enter the station's atmosphere. The fuel is carried in two tanks.
• A propulsion module. The propulsion module, at the rear of the spacecraft, remained unchanged and contains the orientation engines used for the automatic docking. It may be used to boost the orbit of the station once docked.

Reduction in weight was possible because the Progress was designed to be unmanned and disposable. This means that there is no need for bulky life support systems and heat shields. The spacecraft also has no ability to split into separate modules. After undocking, the spacecraft performs a retrofiring and burns up in the atmosphere. Hydrazine is the chemical compound with formula N2H4. ... Nitrogen tetroxide (or dinitrogen tetroxide) is the chemical compound N2O4. ... In the physical sciences, weight is a measurement of the gravitational force acting on an object. ... In aeronautics, a heat shield is a protective layer on a spacecraft or ballistic missile that is designed to protect it from high temperatures, usually those that result from aerobraking during entry into a planets atmosphere. ...

Versions

There were many small variations between the different flights, but the major upgrades are reflected in the change of name.

Progress

There were 42 spacecraft under the name Progress, the last one being launched in May 1990. This article is about the year. ...

The bureau in charge of designing the freighter was TsKBEM (now RKK Energia). They began work on the design in mid-1973, assigning Progress the rather cryptic designation 11F615A15. The design was complete by February, 1974, and the first production model was ready for launch in November 1977. Progress 1 launched on January 20, 1978 aboard the same rocket used to launch the Soyuz. It still featured the same launch shroud as the Soyuz, though this was purely for aerodynamic purposes as the launch escape system had been deactivated. S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (also known as RKK Energiya) is a Russian manufacturer of spacecraft and space station components. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Apollo LES Pad Abort test A Launch Escape System (LES) is a top-mounted rocket connected to the crew module of a crewed spacecraft and used to quickly separate and launch the crew module away from the rest of the rocket in the case of an emergency. ...

This first version of Progress had a mass of 7,020 kg and carried 2,300 kg of cargo, or 30% of its launch weight. It had the same diameter as the Soyuz at 2.2 metres, but was 8 metres in length—slightly longer. The autonomous flight time was 3 days, the same time as that of the Soyuz ferry. It could spend one month docked. Progress always docked to the aft port of the station it was resupplying.

• Launch weight 7,020-7,249 kg
• Weight of cargo (Progress 1-24) ~2,300 kg
• Weight of cargo (Progress 24-42) ~2,500 kg
• Length 7.94 m
• Diameter of cargo modules 2.2 m
• Maximum diameter 2.72 m
• Volume of cargo compartment 6.6 m³

Progress M

The upgrade Progress M was first launched in August 1989. The first 43 flights all went to Mir; following Mir's re-entry, there have been about 14 flights to the International Space Station, and more are scheduled. 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mir (Мир, which can mean both world and peace in Russian) was a highly successful Soviet (and later Russian) orbital station. ... ISS redirects here. ...

The Progress M is essentially the same spacecraft as the Progress, but it features improvements from the Soyuz T and TM. It can spend up to 30 days in autonomous flight and is able to carry 100 kg more to Mir. Also, unlike the old Progress crafts, it can return items to Earth. This is accomplished by using the Raduga capsule, which can carry up to 150 kg of cargo. It is 1.5 m long and 60 cm in diameter and has a "dry weight" of 350 kg. Progress M can dock to the forward port of the station and still transfer fuel. It uses the same rendezvous system as the Soyuz, and it features solar panels for the first time. Mir (Мир, which can mean both world and peace in Russian) was a highly successful Soviet (and later Russian) orbital station. ... NASA illustration of Raduga ballistic return capsule during final descent to Earth. ... Dry weight may refer to: the weight of an automobile or motorcycle with standard equipment, no motor oil, coolant or fuel and not loaded with either passengers or cargo. ...

• Launch weight 7,130 kg
• Cargo weight 2,600 kg
• Dry cargo weight 1,500 kg
• Liquid cargo weight 1,540 kg
• Length 7.23 m
• Solar array span 10.6 m
• Dry cargo compartment volume 7.6 m³
• Diameter of cargo modules 2.2 m
• Maximum diameter 2.72 m

Progress M1

Progress M1 was another variant, capable of carrying more propellant (but less total cargo) to the stations. There have been 11 of these flights.

• Mass: 7,150 kg
• Capacity cargo: 2,230 kg
• Capacity propellant: 1,950 kg
• Capacity dry cargo: 1,800 kg

Progress M2

Progress M2 was another variant, which was a proposed design for the proposed Mir-2 space station, but was dropped due to financial issues. The M2 variant would have a larger service module for larger cargo or space station modules and would have been launched on a Zenit launch vehicle.^[4] Zvezda service module with a Progress docked on the right and the Zarya FGB on the left. ... The Zenit rocket (Ukrainian: Зеніт, Russian: Зени́т; meaning Zenith) is a space launch vehicle manufactured by the Yuzhnoe Design Bureau of Ukraine. ...

Current status

This spacecraft is still in use today for the International Space Station. Between February 1, 2003 and July 26, 2005, it was the only spacecraft available to transport large quantities of supplies to the station, as the Space Shuttle fleet was grounded after the breakup of the Columbia at the end of STS-107. For ISS missions, the Progress M1 variant is used, which moves the water tanks from the propellant and refueling module to the pressurized section, and as a result is able to carry more propellant. ISS redirects here. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... NASAs Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System (STS), is the United States governments current manned launch vehicle. ... The STS-107 crewmembers strike a ‘flying’ pose for their traditional in-flight crew portrait in the SPACEHAB aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. ...

Like the Soyuz (and unlike most American space ships), the Progress has an autonomous navigation system that usually allows for automatic docking with the space station. It can be manually overridden if necessary.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is planning its own supply freighter called the Automated Transfer Vehicle. The first of these, the Jules Verne, is due for launch in mid 2007. It will be able to carry up to 7.5 tonnes of cargo into space, roughly three times as much as the Progress, and will be launched every 12 months by an Ariane 5 rocket. ESA redirects here. ... ISS ESA Automated Transfer Vehicle (ESA) The Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV is a European Space Agency spacecraft designed to supply the International Space Station with propellant, water, air, payload experiments and the like. ... Jules Verne. ... 2007 (MMVII) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ariane 5 mock-up Ariane 5 is a European expendable launch system designed to deliver satellites into geostationary transfer orbit and to send payloads to Low Earth orbit. ...

The new Crew Exploration Vehicle, which will replace the Space Shuttle after 2010, will have, like Progress, two unmanned variations. One version will retain the pressurized crew module, but will be outfitted with storage lockers that can allow astronauts to bring fresh equipment onboard, along with being able to return experiments to Earth. Another version, with the crew module replaced with a docking ring on an enlarged service module, will allow the ISS to be boosted into a higher (350+ mi.) orbit, allowing the ISS to avoid most of the atmosphere and reducing the need to reboost the station on a regular basis. CEV with lunar lander CEV during a landing on earth CEV rocket, the Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) (right) along side the heavy-lift Cargo Launch Vehicle (CaLV) rocket. ...

RKK Energia has proposed as a replacement for the Progress spacecraft a new spacecraft by the name of Parom which means ferry in Russian. This new spacecraft would retrieve either the proposed Kliper or any other cargo container with a Russian airlock up to 15 tons back to the ISS. S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (also known as RKK Energiya) is a Russian manufacturer of spacecraft and space station components. ... Kliper utilizing Parom Space Tug The Parom (ferry in Russian) is a space tug that has been proposed by RKK Energia. ... Russian media coverage of Kliper spacecraft - Russias Channel One TV network. ...

See also

• List of unmanned spaceflights to the ISS

See also International Space Station List of manned spaceflights to the ISS List of ISS spacewalks Categories: International Space Station ...

References

2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• NASA - Russian Progress Spacecraft - NASA page discussing the Progress spacecraft, updated May 2005.