OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
on the launch of the Progress M-50 cargo transport vehicle to the
International Space Station



August 11th, 2004. Baikonur Cosmodrome.

At 9 hours 3 minutes 7 seconds Moscow Time the Rocket and Space Complex
Soyuz-U/Progress M-50 was launched.
The objective of the launch performed under the International Space Station
(ISS) Mission Program and the commitments undertaken by the Russian side is
to deliver to the station the cargoes required to keep its operation,
maintain crew living conditions and activities, refuel its tanks with
propellant and gases, ensure orbital correction.
The mission of the cargo transport vehicle has designation 15P under the ISS
deployment program.
The cargo space vehicle compartment of refueling propellants accommodates
442 kg of fuel, 28 kg of oxygen, 21 kg of air, 420 kg of potable water. Its
cargo bay contains some 1.4 tons of dry cargoes, involving food products,
equipment and facilities for the station onboard systems, medical equipment,
underclothes, personal hygiene and individual protection aids, sets of
onboard documentation, video-and photographic materials, parcels for
crewmembers, structural members, payloads for the USOS, equipment and
materials for conducting space experiments.
The cargo transport vehicle was put into orbit with maximum and minimum
altitudes of 250,9 kg and 192.5 km, respectively; orbital period of 88,65
min and inclination of 51.65°.
Its onboard systems operate normally.
The cargo transport vehicle is to dock with the ISS on August 14th, 2004
approaching an axial docking assembly of the Russian Zvezda Service Module.
The estimated time of coming in contact with the docking assembly is 09 :
02. The docking assembly was released on July 30th, 2004, when the Progress
M-49 cargo transport vehicle operating as part of the Complex since May
27th, 2004, had departed from the station.
After undocking with the ISS, that space vehicle was moved away at a safe
distance and subsequently transferred to the trajectory of descent and
escaping the orbit and, finally, to the preset area in the Pacific Ocean
waters.
The decision on the Soyuz-U/Progress M-50 Complex launch was taken by the
State Commission (with N.F. Moiseev, V.A. Grin as its Co-Chairmen) relying
on the Technical Management's conclusion on the readiness of the Complex and
the ground infrastructure components involved in the ISS Program
implementation.
The Complex prelaunch processing was carried out under direct lead of the
Technical Management (Yu.P. Semenov, Technical Manager of the Russian manned
space programs, General Designer of RSC Energia after S.P. Korolev, the RAS
academician).
The flight of the cargo transport vehicle and the ISS Russian Segment is
commanded by the Lead Operational Control Team (LOCT) based in Moscow
Mission Control Center (MCC-M, Korolev). The Flight Director is
Pilot-Cosmonaut V.A. Solovyov from RSC Energia after S.P. Korolev. The
Orbital Complex is flying in a near-earth orbit with the following
parameters: maximum and minimum altitudes of 378.2 km and 355.0 km,
respectively; an orbital period of 91.6 min and inclination of 51.65°. The
ISS Russian Segment incorporates Functional Cargo Block Zarya, Zvezda
Service Module, docking module Pirs and Soyuz TMA-4 manned transport
spacecraft. The USOS is operating made up of the following components: Unity
module, Destiny module, airlock Quest and multielement truss structure with
solar arrays deployed. Total mass of the Complex is about 176.4 tons.
By telemetry data and reports produced by the crewmembers of Expedition 9,
Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka (Commander) and American astronaut Michael
Fincke (Flight Engineer), all onboard systems of the Orbital Complex are
operating in design modes.
The Orbital Complex is ready to dock with the cargo transport vehicle.



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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info