ROSCOSMOS - Russian Vehicles patch.
July 12, 2021
In accordance with the flight schedule of the International Space Station, on July 2, 2021, the Progress MS-17 transport cargo vehicle (TGC) docked with the MIM2 Poisk module of the ISS Russian Segment (RS). During the implementation of the spacecraft's autonomous flight program, specialists from RSC Energia named after S.P. Korolev (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) began working out the elements of a promising single-orbit autonomous rendezvous scheme with the ISS under the control of the Main Operational Group of the TsNIIMash Mission Control Center (part of Roskosmos).
Progress MS-1
After the completion of the active phase of injection, Progress MS-17 entered a low reference orbit and began to implement the standard program of a two-day (33-orbit) flight to the ISS, which is in a higher circular orbit. As a result of a series of accelerating pulses from the rendezvous-correcting propulsion system, the spacecraft gradually increased the orbital altitude and, at the 32nd orbit, switched to the autonomous rendezvous mode to perform the calculated docking with the station. At the stage of short-range guidance, Progress MS-17 TGK entered the so-called coelliptical orbit, characterized by a constant difference in altitude with the ISS orbit, in which it was about half a turn until the optimal impulse was executed when switching to the station's intercept trajectory. This approach is supposed to be used in a single-orbit rendezvous scheme with the use of quasi-coplanar launch into the reference orbit, which allows transport vehicles to reach the ISS without additional power consumption in just 90-120 minutes after launch. Further development of the elements of the single-turn circuit is planned to be continued in the next supply missions for Progress MS.
Progress MS docking / undocking
Flights of automatic transport vehicles of the Progress MS series in the period 2015-2020 provided experimental flight testing of the “short” six-hour and “superfast” three-hour flight schemes to the ISS, which were then accepted into normal operation for the Soyuz MS manned spacecraft.
Related links:
ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/31859/
RSC Energia: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/rkk-ehnergija/
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/mks/
Image, Animation, Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/NASA/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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