Orbital Sciences will not be launching a demonstration of its Antares launched Cygnus cargo ship to the International Space Station by the end of 2012 as originally planned. In an announcement made October 18, the company laid out a new schedule that puts the first test launch as late as the second quarter of 2013. The announcement was made in a [...]
Post Tagged with: “Progress”
First Dragon Supply Mission to ISS Scheduled While Soyuz Undergoes Repairs
The SpaceX Dragon capsule made history in May when it became the first commercial spacecraft to berth with the International Space Station. With its qualification complete, Dragon is ready to begin its real work. On October 7, Dragon will launch on commercial resupply mission CRS-1 carrying supplies to ISS Expedition 33. The launch date was announced on September 20, after [...]
Progress M-16M On Short Trip to ISS
Just two days after cargo ship Progress M-15M departed from the International Space Station for a second time, its replacement is on the way. Progress M-16M launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on August 1. The ship is testing a shortened route to ISS and due to arrive six hours after it launched. The Progress line of cargo ships provide a regular supply [...]
Progress Cargo Ship Fails to Dock
On July 22, the Progress M-15M cargo ship undocked from the International Space Station in preparation for a test of its new automated docking system, the Kurs-Na. It was supposed to use Kurs-Na to redock on July 23. It failed. “The test was proceeding normally until about the time that the new Kurs-NA rendezvous system was to be engaged,” NASA [...]
Soyuz Docks, Delivers Crew
On the morning of July 17, the Soyuz TMA-05M docked at the Rassvet module, delivering its cargo of three new crewmembers to the International Space Station. The docking took place directly over Kazakhstan, from which the Soyuz had launched two days before. “Everything is perfect,” Yuri Malenchenko, the Soyuz commander, radioed Russia’s Mission Control Center in Korolev, just outside Moscow. Malenchenko, [...]
Busy Days Aboard ISS
It’s a busy time aboard the International Space Station, with a resupply vessel arrival, crew departures, and an upcoming commercial demonstration test. Progress M-15M Arrival On April 22, resupply vessel Progress M-15M docked with the space station, following a successful April 20 launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz-U. It carried 7,290 kg of cargo including 648 kg of propellant [...]
Soyuz Capsule Adds to Year of Russian Mishaps
With the announcement that problems with a Soyuz-TMA capsule will be delaying a scheduled March 30 launch of 3 crew members to ISS in the same week as a major report identifying programming and componentry errors as at fault in the well publicized failure of the Russian’s Phobos-Grunt Mars probe, Russian space failures are once again front and center. The [...]
Progress M-14M Rocket Photographed From the Ground
UPDATE: Some clear color views of the Soyuz-U rocket 3rd stage, which orbited the Progress M-14M. The rocket will have reentered and decayed in meantime. Analyses of the obtained imagery suggest a relatively steady behave of this rocket compared to much more turbulent tumbling observed with other Soyuz launches. This was fairly well confirmed by the reasonable steady visual appearance [...]
Progress Cargo Ship En Route to ISS
On January 26, a Progress M-14M cargo ship successfully launched aboard a Soyuz rocket from Baikonour Cosmodrome. The ship is due to arrive at the ISS on January 27. The launch is the first of 2012 for Roscosmos and the 46th Progress resupply vessel to be sent to ISS. The ship, whose launch was described as “flawless” by a NASA spokesperson, [...]
Russian Satellite Lost in a Soyuz Mishaps
A Russian dual-use communications satellite crashed just after liftoff on December 23, 2011, following the failure of the Soyuz-2 carrier rocket. ”The space branch is suffering a crisis”, said Vladimir Popovin, head of Roscosmos, “We must resolve this situation and give way to the youth.” The Meridian military communication satellite was launched atop an unmanned Soyuz-2 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the north [...]
