Roscosmos is about to launch its Progress MS-23 spacecraft to the International Space Station on Wednesday. Liftoff, atop a Soyuz-2.1a rocket, is scheduled for 12:56 UTC (6:56 p.m. local time), from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Progress MS-23 is the most recent in an extended series of uncrewed Progress cargo spacecraft which Russia uses to deliver supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). It’s the twenty third flight of the Progress MS vehicle and can also be designated Progress 84P by NASA – which signifies that it’s the 84th Progress cargo delivery mission to the ISS. This number includes missions flown by earlier versions of the Progress vehicle.
When Progress MS-23 docks with the module in a while Wednesday, it would be joining Progress MS-22 on the station. Launched on Feb. 9, this vehicle is currently docked on the aft port of the module.
Onboard Progress MS-23 is greater than 2,500 kg of cargo. This includes 600 kg of propellant for refueling the ISS; 630 kg of drinking water, and 40 kg of pressurized gases. The remaining 1,290 kg consists of research equipment and tools, consumables and kits for scientific experiments, clothing, food, and hygiene products to support the work and lifetime of the crew of Expedition 69.
An item of note aboard Progress MS-23 is URM-D, a universal workstation that’s to be installed on the skin of the module as a part of a future spacewalk. Progress can also be carrying BMSTU-Sail, a free-flying solar sail experiment, which shall be manually launched by cosmonauts — also during an upcoming spacewalk.
Launch Preparations
Ahead of its launch, the Progress spacecraft was shipped to the Baikonur Cosmodrome by rail. Arriving on July 5, 2022, it was transferred to the processing constructing at Site 254. Here, crews performed inspections and testing of the spacecraft, including some to be sure that all mechanisms needed to deploy the spacecraft’s solar panels performed as expected. The vehicle was then transferred into storage until the beginning of its launch campaign.
On April 10, it was announced that Progress MS-23 had passed tests in an anechoic chamber, and on April 20, vacuum tests were accomplished. Next, engineers from RSC Energia refueled the thermal control system and tanks of the Rodnik water supply system. On April 27, the solar panels were once more deployed and illuminated to be sure that they’d properly generate electricity in flight.
On May 10, fueling of the Progress spacecraft was approved. Before being transported to the fueling station at Site 31, the spacecraft underwent control weighing and balancing. Once fueled, Progress was transported back to Site 254 for final launch preparations to proceed.
Progress MS-23 was joined to the transfer compartment of the Soyuz launch vehicle on May 16. The transfer compartment provides mechanical connections between the spacecraft and the fairing and allows for integration of control systems between the spacecraft and the onboard control systems on the rocket.
Someday later, the four-meter payload fairing that can protect Progress on its solution to space was rolled into position and attached to the transfer compartment. The assembled unit was then prepared for transportation to Site 31 to be mated with the Soyuz rocket, which was already undergoing its own assembly process.
The Soyuz-2.1a rocket that can carry Progress MS-23 was sent to Baikonur in February. On March 31, engineers from RSC Energia checked the functionality of its motion control and navigation systems, tested the thermal control systems, and tested the automation of the onboard power supply and combined propulsion system.
On May 11, the 4 first-stage boosters were attached to the central core, which serves because the rocket’s second stage. Once the transfer compartment had been fully integrated with Progress and shipped to Site 31, final assembly could happen. On May 19, the integrated transfer compartment third stage were added to the vehicle to supply the fully-assembled Soyuz rocket.
With this entire, the Soyuz 2.1a launch vehicle was rolled out of the mixing constructing and installed on its launch pad at Site 31/6 on May 21.
Soyuz Launch
The Soyuz-2.1a is one among three energetic variants within the Soyuz family of rockets, and of those, it’s the one that almost all closely resembles the sort’s original design. The rocket’s first stage consists of 4 liquid-fueled boosters that are mounted radially around a central core — which makes up the second stage of the rocket.
Each of the 4 boosters is powered by an RD-107A engine, burning RG-1 propellant – a highly-refined type of kerosene much like the US RP-1 – and liquid oxygen (LOX). Each RD-107A is supplied with two smaller vernier engines to assist control the rocket’s trajectory.
The middle core, designated Blok-A, is the second stage of the rocket. It uses a single RD-108A engine, derived from the RD-107A but featuring 4 vernier engines as an alternative of two. The third stage is powered by a single RD-0110 engine, which ignites shortly before the second stage separates, in a process referred to as “hot staging”.
Before launch, the Soyuz-2.1a rocket is loaded with fuel and oxidizer and the 2 large gantry towers surrounding the rocket are lowered to their launch positions. The primary and second stage engines ignite together about 16 seconds before liftoff. Once the engines have spooled as much as full thrust, the Soyuz 2.1a rocket will lift off from Site 31/6.
After clearing the launch pad, the vehicle will establish itself on a launch azimuth aligned with the ISS’s orbital inclination of 51.6 degrees.
The 4 side-mounted boosters of the primary stage shall be the primary a part of the rocket to separate, doing so slightly below two minutes into the flight. Booster separation makes a formation within the sky referred to as the “Korolev Cross”, after Sergei Korolev a pioneer of early Soviet rocketry who designed the Soyuz and R-7 family of rockets.
After first stage separation, the second stage will proceed to burn until it’s depleted of fuel. Shortly before burnout, the third stage will ignite its engine and separate to proceed the ascent into orbit. The third stage will complete orbital insertion, with Progress then separating to start its chase of the International Space Station.
It can take Progress MS-23 about 4 hours and 24 minutes from launch to rendezvous with the ISS, much shorter than other spacecraft on account of the mission profile that’s getting used. It is anticipated to stay on the space station until November. Upon completion of its mission, the vehicle shall be loaded with trash and other unwanted items from the station to burn up within the atmosphere because it re-enters.