Progress M-50 transport cargo vehicle docking to the International Space Station

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
about Progress M-50 transport cargo vehicle docking to the International
Space Station

14.08.2004, Korolev, Moscow Area.

Today following a three-day free flight in near-earth orbit the Russian
Progress M-50 cargo vehicle launched on August 11, 2004 from Baikonur docked
to the International Space Station (ISS).
The vehicle approached a free axial docking port of the Russian Service
Module Zvezda. At 9:01:08 Moscow time the vehicle came into contact with the
station port. The vehicle rendezvous with the ISS, fly-about and docking
were performed in the automatic mode. During the vehicle closing to the
station, fly-about and final approach the vehicle and Space Station were
within the Russian ground site coverage.
The Expedition crew ISS-9 consisting of Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka
(Commander, Yu.A. Gagarin CTC RSRI) and American astronaut Michael Fincke
(Flight Engineer, NASA) working onboard the station monitored the
implementation of the approach and docking processes.
Progress M-50 delivered 2566 kg of various cargoes including 1405 kg of dry
cargoes consisting of foodstuff, equipment and facilities for the station
onboard systems, medical equipment, underwear, personal hygiene items and
individual protection gear, flight-data files, video and photo materials,
parcels for the crew, structural elements, payloads for the USOS, hardware
and materials for space experiments.
The ISS-9 crew will have to unload the vehicle and accommodate the delivered
cargoes on the Station, and load the wasted materials and equipment to the
vehicle.
The on-orbit complex ISS of more than 183 tons performs a near-orbit flight
with the following parameters: maximum altitude of 377.6 km, minimum
altitude of 354.2 km, period of revolution of 91.6 min.
Now the Russian Segment is made up of the Functional Cargo Module Zarya,
Service Module Zvezda, docking module Pirs, transport vehicles Soyuz TMA-4
and Progress M-50. The US On-Orbit Segment is made up of modules Unity and
Destiny, airlock Quest and multi-link truss structure with deployed solar
arrays. The vehicles and Station modules onboard systems operate in a design
mode.
The ISS flight is under control of the Lead Operational Control Team (LOCT)
of the Mission Control Center in Moscow (MCC-M), Korolev, Moscow area in
interaction with the US Mission Control Center in Houston (MCC-H). The
Flight is directed by pilot-cosmonaut V.A. Soloviev, RSC Energia.
During the cargo vehicle docking to the ISS the MCC-M was attended by:
Yu.P. Semenov, Technical Manager of Russian Piloted Space Programs,
Academician of RAS (General Designer of S.P. Korolev RSC Energia),
co-chairmen of the State Board N.F. Moiseev, V.A. Grin', representatives of
the Russian Federal Space Agency and NASA, allied space enterprises and
organizations, which took part in the manufacture, prelaunch processing and
launch of ProgressM-50 and control of the Russian Segment of the Station.
Upon completion of the docking mode V.A. Soloviev, Flight Director answered
the questions of journalists of the Russian and foreign information agencies
and TV companies who were present at MCC-M.



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Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info