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Cosmonaut flies resupply ship to space station docking
BY JUSTIN RAY
SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: October 30, 2010


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For the 40th time in the past decade, a Russian cargo freighter has arrived at the International Space Station carrying vital supplies to feed the needs of the orbiting laboratory and its resident crews. But this docking required the intervention by one of the most experienced cosmonauts.


File photo of approaching Progress spacecraft. Credit: NASA
 
The Progress M-08M spacecraft, flying on autopilot, performed a flawless rendezvous with the space station after a three-day journey from the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad, but some yet-unspecified problem at the last minute prompted cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri to take over manual control and guide the vehicle to docking.

The successful linkup to the Pirs docking compartment came at 12:36 p.m. EDT (1636 GMT) while soaring 220 miles over western Kazakhstan.

Hooks and latches were engaged a few minutes later to firmly secure the 24-foot-long craft to the station.

The Expedition 25 crew of commander Doug Wheelock, fellow NASA astronauts Shannon Walker and Scott Kelly, and Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin, Oleg Skripochka and Kaleri plan to open hatches and enter the Progress later today.

The cargo includes 2,804 pounds of equipment, food, clothing and life support system gear, 1,918 pounds of propellant to replenish reservoirs that feed the Russian maneuvering thrusters, 498 pounds of water and some 110 pounds of oxygen and air for the station's atmosphere.

The Progress was launched Wednesday atop a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, reaching a preliminary orbit of 151 by 120 miles. A series of precise engine firings propelled the freighter on the orbital chase.

After arriving in range of the space station today, the vessel began a flyaround maneuver to get lined up with the docking port and then executed a roll maneuver to properly orient its solar wings with surrounding structures around the Pirs module.

A brief stationkeeping hold with about 650 feet between the freighter and station allowed Russian flight controllers to assess systems before giving approval to commence the final approach.

It was during stationkeeping that Russian flight controllers in Moscow instructed Kaleri to activate the TORU manual docking equipment and take over the piloting tasks from the Progress' autonomous KURS system.

Kaleri, a seasoned veteran on his fifth spaceflight, worked inside the station's Zvezda service module to fly the freighter remotely using television views and a pair of joysticks.

"Half a meter," a one of the cosmonauts reported as the Progress closed in. "Contact. Capture confirmed."

"Alexander Kaleri manually bringing in the Progress 40 for a smooth docking," NASA TV commentator Rob Navias announced from Houston.

"Congratulations to Mission Control with the next milestone completion," Kaleri radioed Moscow.

"And congratulations to you with a successful docking. The range rate at the time of contact, based on our calculations, was 0.067, so you get an A today," a Russian flight controller said.

"This was just like one our training sessions," Kaleri replied.

The craft joins an earlier resupply ship that arrived in September and remains affixed to the outpost, plus two Soyuz crew transport capsules currently residing at the space station.

In addition to being the 40th Progress to dock with the station, this resupply vessel was the fifth of five scheduled for flight this year. The ship will remain attached through mid-January, leaving shortly before the next freighter is launched.

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Additional coverage for subscribers:
VIDEO: WATCH PROGRESS 40P FREIGHTER DOCKING PLAY

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
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