Sign up for our NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed direct to your desktop.
Privacy note: your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose.
Cargo craft begins pursuit of International Space Station BY JUSTIN RAY SPACEFLIGHT NOW Posted: October 27, 2010
Just a week before the shuttle Discovery arrives at the International Space Station for its construction mission, a Russian resupply ship has launched to deliver a load of equipment, fuel and provisions to the orbiting science laboratory.
Credit: Tsenki TV
Liftoff of the cargo freighter atop a Soyuz booster from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan occurred today at 11:11 a.m. EDT (1511 GMT).
The preliminary orbit was achieved after a nine-minute ascent provided by the three-stage rocket, and onboard commands were issued to unfurl the craft's communications and navigation antennas and extend two power-generating solar arrays that span 35 feet.
A series of precise engine firings over the next three days will guide the Progress toward an automated rendezvous with the station. The docking is slated for Saturday at 12:39 p.m. EDT (1639 GMT).
The 24-foot long ship will attach itself to the open port on the Pirs compartment, which was vacated Monday when a previous Progress was jettisoned.
Today's launch was known in the station's assembly matrix as Progress mission 40P. The spacecraft's formal Russian designation is Progress M-08M.
The craft will bring two-and-a-half tons of supplies to the station. The "dry" cargo tucked aboard the Progress amounts to 2,804 pounds in the form of food, spare parts, life support gear and experiment hardware.
The refueling module carries 1,918 pounds of propellant for transfer into the Russian segment of the complex to feed the station's maneuvering thrusters. The vessel also has 498 pounds of water and 110 pounds of oxygen.
It'll remain attached to the station through mid-January.
The Soyuz rocket rolls to pad with Progress 40P. Credit: Roscosmos
The space station is staffed by the Expedition 25 crew of commander Doug Wheelock, fellow NASA astronauts Shannon Walker and Scott Kelly, and Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin, Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka.
The cosmonauts will be standing by Saturday to take over manual control of the approaching Progress spacecraft if the autopilot experiences a problem. They will spend time this week checking out the backup system.
After the Progress arrives, the station crew will turn its focus to the upcoming space shuttle mission.
Discovery is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday at 4:40 p.m. EDT. The shuttle will dock with the station next Wednesday to install the Permanent Multipurpose Module and an external equipment carrier.
You can follow along with Discovery's launch countdown and flight in our Mission Status Center.
The following Progress freighter timeline shows the key events scheduled from launch until docking:
Day 1 events - Wednesday
Event
Mission Time
Eastern Time
LAUNCH
0/00:00:00
11:11:50 a.m.
Orbit Insertion
0/00:08:45
11:20:35 a.m.
Maneuver DV1 (23.05 m/s)
0/03:37:47
2:49:37 p.m.
Maneuver DV2 (8.23 m/s)
0/04:32:02
3:43:52 p.m.
Day 3 events - Friday
Event
Mission Time
Eastern Time
Maneuver DV3 (3.00 m/s)
2/01:01:48
12:13:38 p.m.
Day 4 events - Saturday
Event
Mission Time
Eastern Time
Start Automated Rendezvous
2/23:07:50
10:19:40 a.m.
DV4 / Impulse 1 (18.089 m/s)
2/23:29:51
10:41:41 a.m.
Impulse 2 (1.265 m/s)
2/23:51:48
11:03:38 a.m.
Progress Kurs-A activation
2/23:54:10
11:06:00 a.m.
Zvezda Kurs-P activation
2/23:56:10
11:08:00 a.m.
DV5 / Impulse 3 (22.063 m/s)
3/00:14:36
11:26:26 a.m.
Good Kurs-P data (Range 80 km)
3/00:18:50
11:30:40 a.m.
Orbital sunrise
3/00:21:13
11:33:03 a.m.
Kurs-A and Kurs-P short test (Range 15 km)
3/00:39:50
11:51:40 a.m.
Start Zvezda transmitter for TORU link (Range 9 km)
3/00:45:50
11:57:40 a.m.
Progress TV activation (Range 9 km)
3/00:45:50
11:57:40 a.m.
Start Progress receiver for TORU link (Range 3 km)
3/00:55:10
12:07:00 p.m.
Impulse 4 (6.568 m/s)
3/00:55:31
12:07:21 p.m.
TORU command link test (Range 2 km)
3/00:57:30
12:09:20 p.m.
Impulse 5 (5.282 m/s)
3/01:00:00
12:11:50 p.m.
Impulse 6 (2.259 m/s)
3/01:02:29
12:14:19 p.m.
Start flyaround
3/01:05:38
12:17:28 p.m.
Start stationkeeping
3/01:12:50
12:24:40 p.m.
Start final approach
3/01:16:40
12:28:30 p.m.
Orbital sunset
3/01:17:31
12:29:21 p.m.
DOCKING
3/01:27:40
12:39:30 p.m.
Data source: NASA
Additional coverage for subscribers: VIDEO:
WELCOME CEREMONY FOR NEW EXPEDITION 25 PLAY VIDEO:
POST-DOCKING NEWS BRIEFING IN RUSSIA PLAY VIDEO:
SOYUZ TMA-01M DOCKS TO THE SPACE STATION PLAY VIDEO:
FULL EXPERIENCE FROM LIFTOFF TO ORBIT PLAY VIDEO:
CREW DEPARTS SITE 254 FOR LAUNCH PAD PLAY VIDEO:
VIPS MEET THE CREW ON LAUNCH MORNING PLAY VIDEO:
CREW MEMBERS DON THEIR SOKOL SPACESUITS PLAY VIDEO:
LAUNCH MORNING TRADITIONS AT CREW QUARTERS PLAY VIDEO:
BIOGRAPHIES OF KELLY, KALERI AND SKRIPOCHKA PLAY VIDEO:
PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH SCOTT KELLY PLAY VIDEO:
PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH ALEXANDER KALERI PLAY VIDEO:
PRE-LAUNCH INTERVIEW WITH OLEG SKRIPOCHKA PLAY VIDEO:
SOYUZ ROCKET ROLLED TO THE LAUNCH PAD PLAY VIDEO:
POST-ROLLOUT COMMENTS FROM NASA VIPS PLAY VIDEO:
ASSEMBLY OF SOYUZ COMPLETED IN THE HANGAR PLAY VIDEO:
HIGHLIGHTS OF CREW'S ACTIVITIES AT BAIKONUR PLAY VIDEO:
CREW'S DEPARTURE FROM STAR CITY TRAINING BASE PLAY VIDEO:
PRIME AND BACKUP CREWS MEET WITH REPORTERS PLAY VIDEO:
REMARKABLE VIDEO OF CREW EXITING CAPSULE PLAY VIDEO:
AERIAL FOOTAGE OF THE SOYUZ SAFELY LANDING PLAY VIDEO:
SOYUZ TMA-18 DEPARTS THE SPACE STATION PLAY VIDEO:
CREW BOARDS SOYUZ CAPSULE FOR DEPARTURE PLAY VIDEO:
SPACE STATION CHANGE OF COMMAND CEREMONY PLAY VIDEO:
WATCH CARGO FREIGHTER DOCK TO SPACE STATION PLAY VIDEO:
LAUNCH OF SOYUZ ROCKET WITH PROGRESS 39P PLAY VIDEO:
POST-SPACEWALK NO. 3 STATUS BRIEFING PLAY VIDEO:
SPACEWALKERS CONCLUDE THE THIRD EVA PLAY VIDEO:
AMMONIA HOSES ARE ATTACHED TO THE PUMP PLAY VIDEO:
POWER AND DATA LINES BRING PUMP TO LIFE PLAY VIDEO:
REPLACEMENT PUMP SECURELY BOLTED DOWN PLAY VIDEO:
PUMP INSERTED INTO SPACE STATION SLOT PLAY VIDEO:
SPACEWALKER HAULS PUMP OVER TO TRUSS PLAY VIDEO:
RETRIEVING THE REPLACEMENT PUMP PLAY VIDEO:
SPACEWALK NO. 3 BEGINS PLAY VIDEO:
POST-SPACEWALK NO. 2 STATUS BRIEFING PLAY VIDEO:
FAILED COOLANT PUMP REMOVED FROM THE STATION PLAY VIDEO:
ROBOT ARM MANEUVERS SPACEWALKER AROUND PLAY VIDEO:
POWER AND DATA LINES UNPLUGGED PLAY VIDEO:
TROUBLESOME UMBILICAL DETACHED PLAY VIDEO:
NO REPEAT OF AMMONIA LEAK PLAY VIDEO:
POST-SPACEWALK NO. 1 STATUS BRIEFING PLAY VIDEO:
PROBLEM CONNECTOR FINALLY FREED BUT THEN LEAKS PLAY VIDEO:
LEFT-HAND AMMONIA UMBILICAL COMES OFF WITH EASE PLAY VIDEO:
SKIPPING OVER PROBLEM CONNECTOR TO DO ANOTHER PLAY VIDEO:
TROUBLES AND ADVICE FOR STUCK AMMONIA LINE PLAY VIDEO:
PUMP'S SMALL COOLING LINE UNPLUGGED PLAY VIDEO:
SPACEWALKER DOUG WHEELOCK WORKS ON OLD PUMP PLAY VIDEO:
BRIEFING ON PUMP FAILURE AND SPACEWALKS PLAY VIDEO:
FULL BROADCAST OF SUPPLY SHIP'S DOCKING PLAY VIDEO:
WATCH CARGO FREIGHTER DOCK TO SPACE STATION PLAY VIDEO:
PROGRESS 38P FREIGHTER LAUNCHED PLAY VIDEO:
ORANGE COUNTY AND AL JAZEERA MEDIA INTERVIEWS PLAY VIDEO:
SOYUZ RELOCATED FROM ZVEZDA TO RASSVET PLAY VIDEO:
WELCOME CEREMONY FOR THE NEW RESIDENTS PLAY VIDEO:
POST-DOCKING NEWS BRIEFING IN RUSSIA PLAY VIDEO:
SOYUZ DOCKS TO THE SPACE STATION PLAY VIDEO:
FULL EXPERIENCE FROM LIFTOFF TO ORBIT PLAY VIDEO:
ENTIRE EXPEDITION 24 LAUNCH BROADCAST PLAY VIDEO:
CREW DEPARTS SITE 254 FOR LAUNCH PAD PLAY VIDEO:
VIPS MEET THE CREW ON LAUNCH MORNING PLAY VIDEO:
CREW MEMBERS DON THEIR SOKOL SPACESUITS PLAY VIDEO:
LAUNCH MORNING TRADITIONS AT CREW QUARTERS PLAY VIDEO:
SOYUZ ROCKET ROLLED TO THE LAUNCH PAD PLAY VIDEO:
POST-ROLLOUT COMMENTS FROM NASA OFFICIAL PLAY VIDEO:
ASSEMBLY OF SOYUZ COMPLETED IN THE HANGAR PLAY VIDEO:
HIGHLIGHTS OF CREW'S ACTIVITIES AT BAIKONUR PLAY VIDEO:
CREW'S DEPARTURE FROM STAR CITY TRAINING BASE PLAY VIDEO:
PRIME AND BACKUP CREWS MEET WITH REPORTERS PLAY VIDEO:
CEREMONIAL VISIT TO RED SQUARE IN MOSCOW PLAY SUBSCRIBE NOW
VIDEO:
WELCOME CEREMONY FOR NEW EXPEDITION 25 