ISS - International Space Station emblem.
Sep. 16, 2021
In accordance with the Russian flight program of the International Space Station, on September 28, 2021, it is planned to re-dock the Soyuz MS-18 manned transport vehicle from the Rassvet small research module to the newly arrived multipurpose laboratory module Nauka.
Nauka (Science) Multipurpose Laboratory Module
According to preliminary data from the Main Operational Control Group of the Russian Segment of the ISS (Rocket and Space Corporation Energia named after SP Korolev, part of the State Corporation Roscosmos), the estimated separation time of the spacecraft is 15:21 Moscow time, the autonomous flight will be preliminarily 40 minutes. Re-docking will be carried out in manual mode by the spacecraft commander, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky with the participation of flight engineers - Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei.
Russia pressing forward on ISS expansion
This operation will be carried out in order to release the docking station of the Rassvet module, to which the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft is to dock on October 5, 2021, as well as to check the operation of the docking equipment of the multipurpose laboratory module, which became part of the Russian segment of the station at the end July. For this, first of all, the Soyuz MS-18 manned spacecraft will be docked to Nauka, and then the Progress MS-17 cargo vehicle. It is he who will prepare the International Space Station for the reception of the new "Prichal" nodal module. From July 2, 2021 to the present, the Russian "truck" is docked to the small research module "Poisk"; it is scheduled to undock on October 21. After two days of autonomous flight, as expected, it will automatically dock to the nadir node of the Nauka module.
Prichal Node Module
Now, at the docking port of the Nauka module, there is a special adapter (ring-pad), which allows the Russian Soyuz MS and Progress MS spacecraft to dock to it, so the Progress MS-17 cargo vehicle will take it away with it upon final undocking. with the station. After such a two-stage check, the Prichal module will be docked to the docking station, which is scheduled to launch at the end of November this year.
UM (Prichal, NM, Progress-MS-UM)
In the near future, the crew of the Soyuz MS-18 manned spacecraft will conduct an onboard training for the upcoming operation. Oleg Novitsky, Petr Dubrov and Mark Vande Hei, together with the specialists of the Main Operational Control Group, will work out the preparation steps and the redocking sequence itself. As part of a three-hour training session, they will work out the planned work and check the condition of the equipment, in step-by-step consultations with Russian specialists on Earth.
Currently, seven crew members are on board the International Space Station: Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Petr Dubrov, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Shane Kimbrough and Megan MacArthur, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, as well as space flight participants - actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko are to arrive on the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft.
Related links:
ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/32590/
Soyuz MS-18: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/sojuz-ms-18/
Progress MS-17: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/progress-ms-17/
Nauka (Science): https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/nauka/
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/mks/
RSC Energia: https://www.roscosmos.ru/32590/
Images, Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/RSC Energia/NASA/Gunter's Space Page/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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