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The long-standing attempt to launch a Russian supply vehicle Progress to the International Space Station and to make it meet the orbital complex after only two orbits and a half and a little under 4 hours in space will be attempted aujourd & # 39; hui. Roscosmos plans to launch the Progress MS-09 spacecraft at 17:51 33 EDT (21:51:33 UTC) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, with a docking at the space station scheduled for 21:39 EDT (0139 UTC on 10 July) – only 3 hours 48 minutes after launch.
Progress MS-09 – Accelerated Appointment:
Overall, it will be Roscosmos' third attempt to launch a Progress supply vehicle at the International Space Station. only half-past three. Previous attempts to perform such a maneuver were planned for the Progress MS-07 and MS-08 missions.
However, these two missions had their launches swept a few seconds off their countdown, thus missing the critical ISS track. alignment with the launch site of the Baikonur Cosmodrome and the prevention of an accelerated appointment
This alignment between the ground runway of the International Space Station and the launch site is which allows such an accelerated orbital rendezvous. Improving the ability of the Progress Series vehicles to quickly confirm their orbital insertion settings with a downrange tracking station installed at the newly built Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia.
This runway alignment with the launch site is not one that is carefully planned by the international space station program. For this quick rendezvous attempt, the International Space Station's orbit was relaunched on 23 June by the MS-08 Progress spacecraft thrusters – a reboost designed to specifically align the Station with the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the first time. quick launch and attempt to dock. 19659004]
As for other attempts to rendezvous, the reboost and phase alignment of the Space Station with the Baikonur Cosmodrome are only available for a single launch attempt: today. An accelerator boost at the instant launch of Progress MS-09 today will result in the craft having to fly a two-day orbital phasing profile of 36 days to the next day. ISS at launch date realigned later this week
The Progress vehicle MS-09 will take off from a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 17: 51:33 EDT (21:51:33 UTC) on July 9th – which is local time 03:51:33 on July 10th.
At launch, the International Space Station will be just southwest of the launch site, following the northeast, in an orientation that will place progression MS-09 just before the scientific outpost . same orbital plane once Progress reaches orbit.
Location of the International Space Station at the time of the planned launch of Progress MS-09 today. (Credit: GoISSWatch app & GoSoftWorks)
The full launch of Progress MS-09 will last 8 minutes 45 seconds, at which time the third floor of Soyuz 2.1a will stop and Progress will be in orbit. Only 1 hour and 24 minutes after takeoff, Progress's embedded computers launch the automated rendezvous sequence.
Ten minutes after the start of the automated rendezvous, the International Space Station maneuvered on its plate and then transferred all the United States Operating Segment (USOS) maneuvers to the Russian control section. This will happen 2 hours and 7 minutes after the launch of Progress and only 1 hour and 40 minutes prior to docking Progress MS-09 at the orbital outpost.
The station's Kouts navigation system will be activated shortly thereafter. will be the system Progress & # 39; Kurs. With Progress MS-09 at a distance of 45 km, the Mission Control Moscow (MCC-M) control teams will validate the Progress / Station Range data via the Kurs system a little more than an hour before the start. mooring and only 2 hours. a few minutes after the launch of Progress MS-09
Another Kurs test will take place once Progress is within 15 km (9 miles) of the station. Shortly after, the ISS crew will deactivate the amateur radio from the outpost and turn on the VHF-2 TORU system (telephoto control mode)
A vehicle from the MS series approaches the International Space Station. (Source: NASA)
TORU is the manual docking system that would be used by the Russian Space Station crew to manually dock MS-09 progression if its automatic docking system failed. for some reason. The station side of the TORU system will be fully activated at the time Progress MS-09 is 45 minutes from the docking and at a distance of 9 km ISS – this will only happen 3 hours 2 minutes after launch
The TURO of MS-09 will then be fully activated 11 minutes later – at the same time as the US team of the station checks that all EVA communication equipment and the CUCU (communication unit UHF CRS) of the SpaceX Dragon are blocked to prevent communications from progressing. & # 39; automated appointment system.
Progress MS-09 will then begin its ISS overflight to align properly with its mooring port on the Nadir side (facing the ground) of the mooring bay of Pirs. Once aligned, the MS-09 progress will hold its position relative to the ISS (station maintenance) 3 hours 34 minutes after launch and just 13 minutes before the planned docking.
Maintaining the station is planned for about three minutes; However, the past missions of Progress have a much shorter life
Once the MCC-M gave him the order to advance, the Progress MS-09 computer pulse the propellers of the gear to start the final approach. the ISS and MS-09 progress on the Tasman Sea at the scheduled time of docking, only 3 hours 48 minutes after launch. (Credit: GoISSWatch app & GoSoftWorks)
Mooring is expected (but could occur a few minutes earlier than expected) at 9:39 pm EDT Monday July 9 (0139 UTC July 10) while the two ships fly over the Tasman Sea, west of the island of northern New Zealand
As soon as the station registers the contact between the two gears, the ISS computers control the free drift of the station, preventing any attitude control of the ISS. the two vehicles to be amortized.
Once these movements are no longer present, the locking hooks will be dragged to form a hard dock between Progress MS-09 and the station.
Once anchored, the MS-09 progress will deliver 2,567 kg (5,659 lb) of supplies to the station, including 530 kg (1,168 lb) of propellant, 52 kg (114 lb) of oxygen and air, 420 kg (926 lb) of water and 1,565 kg
Even without these new supplies, Station is extremely well stocked. The current limiting consumable is food that, without the MS-09 progress, is currently stored at least until December 2018 (not counting the other replenishment boats scheduled for the rest of the year.) [19659027] With Progress MS-09, this food consumption limit increases by 1.5 months, taking the limiting consumable in mid-January 2019.
In all, Progress MS-09 (# 439 spacecraft) is the ninth of the new line of Progress, the 161st Progress mission since the beginning of the program in 1978 for the replenishment efforts of the Salyut 6 space station and the 72nd Progress mission to the ISS, in cash the two Progress flights that were not designated as replenishment missions. 19659004] One of these two Progress non-replenishment flights took place in 2001, when a modified version of Progress delivered the Pirs Mooring Bay – a station module that the MS-09 is currently scheduled to take off for a destructive comeback. the atmosphere of the Earth in January 2019 to make room for the Russian scientific laboratory of Nauka.
Including this flight, 72 Progress missions have been launched to the ISS so far, Progress MS-09 (or Progress 70 as NASA) 69th attempt of a Progress family vehicle to reach the station successfully after the failure of the launch of Progress in August 2011 the launch accident Progress 59 in April 2015 and the Progress 65 failed launch in December 2016 .
