What changes have been made to the Resupply Spacecraft system to enable deorbit?
Progress Spacecrafts are robotic resupply vessels designed to transport supplies and materials to the International Space Station.
Recent Deorbit Efforts
In recent efforts, the engineers and technicians at Progress Resupply have worked to deorbit a crucial supply craft currently in orbit around the Earth. The vessels have been deemed no longer serviceable and must be safely taken down for proper disposal.
Successful Deorbit Process
To ensure a successful deorbit process, the Progress Resupply team have taken several steps throughout the procedure:
- Assessment of Deorbit Conditions: Engineers have carefully assessed the conditions of the current trajectory, atmospheric conditions, and other safety factors to ensure a smooth re-entry.
- Maneuver Preparation: The craft has been carefully maneuvered to the best possible deorbit trajectory, avoiding any potential hazardous conditions for re-entry.
- Re-entry Planning: A comprehensive re-entry plan has been established which accounts for resources, personnel, and all safety procedures.
Next Steps
Progress Resupply are now working to complete the final step of the process which involves the safe disposal of the craft. When completed, all components of the vessel will be disposed of in a responsible, eco-friendly manner.
Progress Resupply takes every measure to ensure a safe and successful deorbit process. With the completion of this mission, a crucial supply vessel will be safely taken down, paving the way for another successful mission to take its place.
The Progress spacecraft, a Russian unmanned spacecraft series designed to resupply the International Space Station (ISS), has completed a series of corrective maneuvers and is now preparing to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. On June 11, 2011 the spacecraft, launched just two days before, failed to reach its planned orbit, instead entering a lower-than-average orbit. Though the malfunction meant the resupply mission would have to be aborted, the Progress was able to make use of its on-board propulsion system to adjust its orbit in order to prepare for a controlled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
The re-entry of the Progress spacecraft is expected to take place on July 24, and ground controllers have slowly been maneuvering the spacecraft into the appropriate trajectory over the past several weeks. The deorbit burn when have been the final propellant-consuming maneuver for the spacecraft, and the mission is expected to finish without further incident.
Despite the brief hiccup, the resupply mission itself was a success. The cargo vessel carried 2.5 tons of supplies, including food, spare parts, and even new microbial samples for research. Little of these supplies were expected to make it to the ISS before the malfunction, but engineers were able to quickly adjust the plan in order to make the most of the Progress’s remaining fuel.
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, has released statements praising the efforts of the Progress crew and expressing confidence in their ability to complete the mission safely. this is the first time such a controlled re-entry has been attempted, and the agency is eager to learn from the experience.
In short, though this was certainly an unexpected complication, it appears that the mission is progressing towards a successful resolution. With luck, the deorbit burn will complete without a hitch and the crew will have collected valuable data from the mission.