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EDITOR'S NOTE: Updated at 0145 GMT (9:45 pm EDT) after docking.
Russian refueling and refueling was launched Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, putting a Soyuz orbit in orbit to a perfectly planned departure that paved the way for an international space station.
The Progress MS-09 aircraft carrier took off from a Soyuz-2.1a rocket at 21:51:34 (17:51 EDT) on Monday from the historical space port of the Kazakh steppe. Riding nearly a million pounds of thrust, the Soyuz rocket sank to the northeast, rapidly surpassing the speed of sound and projecting an orange glow on the Baikonur cosmodrome, where takeoff took place on Tuesday at 3:51 am local time.
The Soyuz rocket released the Progress spacecraft MS-09 about nine minutes later. Following pre-programmed orders, the freighter quickly expanded its solar panels and navigation antennas.
A series of throws by the Progress spacecraft began in the first hour of the mission, with a large rocket of about 44 minutes. after takeoff to start adjusting its orbit to match the trajectory of the space station.
The cargo ship completed an automated radar link with the station's docking bay at 0131 GMT Tuesday (9:31 pm EDT Monday), less than four hours after takeoff from Kazakhstan and about eight minutes before the start. expected time.
Russian engineers sent the Progress spacecraft MS-09 to the fastest rendezvous of the International Space Station
The two-orbit rendezvous was made possible by the launch of the Soyuz rocket. Immediately prior to the departure of the space station over the Baikonur Cosmodrome
At takeoff, the space station was circling a point about 370 miles (595 kilometers) southwest of Baikonur. By the time the supply vessel was in orbit, the station was traveling 1,645 miles (1,615 kilometers) in front of the freighter.
All missions to the space station take off when land rotation brings the launch pad under the lab floor. but the outpost is usually located on another part of the planet, forcing the visiting cargo or crew capsule to get closer before berthing.
Until 2012, Russian cargo and crew flights took place over two days. Trip to the space station. The rendezvous profile quietly spread the maneuvers needed to approach the research complex into 450-tonne orbit.
But Russian authorities launched a Progress supply vessel on a six-hour expedited appointment for the first time in 2012, and began using runway approach for Soyuz's crew missions in 2013 The six-hour trip occurs when the space station and the visiting spacecraft make four orbits of Earth, while the even faster trip scheduled for Monday takes place in two orbits.
SpaceX and Northrop Grumman cargo vehicles usually take several days to reach the space station after launch.
The first two Russian attempts to demonstrate the two-orbit rendezvous technique during Progress's replenishment flights in October and February had to be canceled. 19659004] Attempts to launch the last two Progress missions were erased in the last minute before take-off. In both cases Russian technicians replaced a control unit in the Soyuz rocket to correct the problem.
Both missions managed to reach the space station, but missed close launch opportunities that would have allowed for fast landings. . Instead, Progress's replenishment cargo ships have returned to longer two-day rendezvous profiles
The space station must fly near the launch pad in Kazakhstan to make an accelerated appointment feasible. Russia plans to finally use the fastest rendezvous profile in orbit for Soyuz's crew missions
"This technique will be tested several times before a crew is engaged on this launch profile of only two orbits, "said Rob Navias, a spokesman for NASA
The next two crew launches at the space station, scheduled for October 11 and December 20, will employ the four-hour appointment profiles already proven, six hours, Navias said
Launch of the MS-09 Progress cargo ship with 5,658 kilos of fuel, water, food and dry cargo. Here is a breakdown of the cargo, provided by NASA:
- 1,168 pounds (530 kilograms) of rocket fuel
- 114 pounds (51 kilograms) of oxygen and air
- 926 pounds (420 kilograms) of water [19659025] 3,450 pounds (1,565 kilograms) of dry cargo
Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Prokopyev, placed on a control panel inside the service module Zvezda from the station, were ready to take manual control of the final approach.
But no such problem occurred and the Progress successfully docked in autopilot mode
Cosmonauts planned to open hatches leading to the Progress spacecraft MS-09 shortly after docking. .
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