ROSCOSMOS - Russian Vehicles patch.
Sep. 17, 2021
Controlling the orbital motion of the International Space Station is a complex work that is being continuously carried out by specialists from subsidiaries of the State Corporation Roscosmos. The main task is the formation of ballistic conditions for the launch of transport ships to the ISS and the descent of Russian manned spacecraft into the most favorable area.
On October 5, 2021, the launch of the Soyuz MS-19 manned transport vehicle is planned from the Baikonur cosmodrome. Its rendezvous with the ISS is planned to be carried out according to an "ultra-short" two-turn scheme with docking just three hours after launch. To do this, ballistics specialists need to ensure the position of the ISS relative to the spacecraft at the end of the section of its launch into orbit by the launch vehicle with great accuracy. In addition, 12 days after the launch of the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft, another spacecraft, Soyuz MS-18, will leave the station.
ISS reboost by Progress cargo spacecraft
It takes about six months to form the ISS orbit, in which both the implementation of a "superfast" rendezvous scheme and the subsequent landing of the launch vehicle with the crew of the spacecraft are possible: for example, to launch the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft and land the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft since May of this year, it is necessary to carry out five corrections of the station's orbit parameters. Orbital maneuvers of the ISS usually increase the average altitude of its orbit, but in this case, at the final stage of the formation of the ISS orbit, it was necessary to lower it in order to ensure the landing of the Soyuz MS-18 crew in a given area.
The next correction of the ISS orbit altitude is scheduled for September 24. According to preliminary data from the ballistic and navigation service of the TsNIIMash Mission Control Center (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation), the engines of the Zvezda service module of the ISS Russian segment will be turned on at 17:23 Moscow time and will run for 48 seconds. The impulse value will be 0.66 m / s. After carrying out the corrective maneuver, the station's orbit altitude will decrease by 1.2 km.
ISS orbit parameters after the corrective maneuver:
- Orbital period: 92.91 min;
- Orbital inclination: 51.66 degrees;
- Minimum orbital altitude: 418.5 km;
- Maximum orbit height: 438.5 km.
Now the crew of Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Peter Dubrov, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who arrived on April 9, 2021 on the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft, as well as crew members of the Crew Dragon spacecraft NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan MacArthur, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.
Related links:
ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/32611/
TsNIIMash: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/cniimash/
MCC: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/cup/
Soyuz MS-18: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/sojuz-ms-18/
Soyuz MS-19: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/sojuz-ms-19/
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/mks/
Image, Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/MCC/NASA/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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