Fresh cargo ship set for launch to space station

BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: April 8, 2014


Russia is poised to deliver fresh supplies to the International Space Station on Wednesday with the launch and docking of an automated Progress cargo spacecraft.

The Progress M-23M spacecraft is set for liftoff aboard a Soyuz rocket at 1526 GMT (11:26 a.m. EDT) Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

It will mark the 55th Russian Progress resupply spacecraft to launch to the space station since cargo deliveries began in 2000.

Mounted on top of a three-stage Soyuz booster, the Progress spaceship is packed with more than 1,700 pounds of propellant, 926 pounds of water, 48 pounds of oxygen and more than 3,100 pounds of dry cargo comprised of spare parts, scientific experiments, food and other items for the space station's six-man crew.

The Soyuz rocket emerged from its assembly building at the Baikonur Cosmodrome before sunrise Monday on a specially-built railroad car. The rocket arrived at the launch pad by mid-morning before a hydraulic erector system lifted the unfueled rocket before work platforms were raised to encapsulate the rocket for final launch preparations.

The images below show the Soyuz rocket's rollout Monday.

Liquid oxygen and kerosene propellants will be pumped into the rocket in the final hours before liftoff, which is set for 9:26 p.m. local time Wednesday.

The rocket's four strap-on boosters will shut down and fall away from the Soyuz about two minutes after liftoff. The launcher's liquid-fueled core stage and upper stage will boost the Progress M-23M spacecraft into orbit about nine minutes into the flight.

The Progress is programmed to extend its solar arrays to begin charging the craft's batteries moments after deploying from the Soyuz rocket's upper stage. The spacecraft will also open navigation and communications antennas shortly after the launch.

After a series of engine burns to fine-tune its approach to the space station, the Progress begin its automated rendezvous sequence at 1914 GMT (3:14 p.m. EDT). The radar-guided rendezvous will culminate with a flyaround maneuver to line up with the station's Pirs docking compartment. Docking is set for 2120 GMT (5:20 p.m. EDT), less than six hours after liftoff.

The Progress M-22M spacecraft undocked from the space station Monday to clear the way for the arrival of the new unmanned supply ship. Loaded with trash, the older Progress is set for a series of experiments to help Russian engineers determine how they can better track rocket exhaust plumes from the ground.

The Progress M-22M spacecraft is set for a de-orbit burn and destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean on April 18.

Credit: Energia

Credit: Energia

Credit: Energia

Credit: Energia

Credit: Energia

Credit: Roscosmos

Credit: Energia

Credit: Roscosmos

Credit: Roscosmos

Credit: Energia

Credit: Energia

Credit: Energia

Credit: Energia

Credit: Energia

Credit: Roscosmos

Credit: Roscosmos

Credit: Roscosmos

Credit: Energia

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