Russian module bound for ISS still having problems

Russia is newly spear International space station the Nauka module has still been fighting since Friday afternoon, because the first reports indicate that the backup engines of the module were triggered successfully. It’s a big relief for Roscosmos, which nearly saw its long-awaited module become a tragic piece of space history instead of the most recent piece on the International Space Station. But it’s not out of the woods yet.

The first glitch in Nauka’s journey happened yesterday, when the spaceship did not complete its first orbit rise combustion. This meant that the unmanned Nauka was not on track to intercept the ISS, which is scheduled to dock with Thursday, July 29. The issue was attributed to a software glitch in a computer onboard the Nauka, which preventedted the main engines of the spacecraft to shoot. The Nauka team was able to manage a course correction remotely, but a second course correction was deemed necessary and scheduled for today. A first report by journalist Anatoly Zak said one of the spacecraft’s engines came back to life during a mission. The “backup engine seems to have worked well,” said Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, in an email today., although he added that the condition of the engines was not yet certain and that it would likely take a few hours before a new set of data from Nauka checked the situation.

TThrusters are just one piece of the engineering puzzle, so the new mod is hardly free from home. Nauka has also had issues with an antenna and its docking target, and it’s unclear how these issues will affect docking attempts, SpaceNews reported. “Apparently there is still a problem with the Kurs dating system, and that’s pretty critical for docking, ”McDowell said, add this the spacecraft’s TORU system – which allows astronauts aboard the ISS to assist with docking – is functioning normally.

For now, the Pirs docking compartment is currently located in the dock assigned to Nauka on the ISS.. Question ‘ scheduled undocking to make room for the new module was postponed from Friday to Sunday, according to RussianSpaceWeb.

“It’s not uncommon for complex spacecraft to have youthful issues. However, the number and severity of the issues on this flight are above the norm, and that is perhaps not too surprising given the vehicle’s long development timelines. However, I’m moderately optimistic that they’ll get a successful docking eventually, but not necessarily the first time, ”McDowell said.

Keep your eyes on this spaceship. There is definitely a twist or two to the left in this tale.

More: Russia Avoids Possible Catastrophe As New Space Station Module Finally Reaches Right Orbit