Progress M-27M
 Progress M-27M during processing | |
| Mission type | ISS resupply |
|---|---|
| Operator | Roscosmos |
| COSPAR ID | 2015-024A |
| SATCAT № | 40619 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Progress-M 11F615A60 |
| Manufacturer | RKK Energia |
| Launch mass | 7,298 kg (16,089 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 28 April 2015, 07:09:50 UTC[1] |
| Rocket | Soyuz-2.1a |
| Launch site | Baikonur 31/6[1] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Perigee | 187 kilometres (116 mi)[2] |
| Apogee | 258 kilometres (160 mi)[2] |
| Inclination | 51.65 degrees[2] |
| Period | 88.95 minutes[2] |
| Epoch | 29 April 2015, 02:36:45 UTC[2] |
| Docking with ISS | |
| Docking port | Pirs nadir |
| Docking date | Docking attempt cancelled[3] |
| Cargo | |
| Mass | 2,357 kg (5,196 lb) |
| Pressurised | 1,393 kg (3,071 lb) |
| Fuel | 494 kg (1,089 lb) |
| Gaseous | 50 kg (110 lb) |
| Water | 420 kg (930 lb) |
Progress M-27M (Russian: Прогресс М-27М), identified by NASA as Progress 59 or 59P, is a Progress spacecraft used by Roscosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) during 2015.[4] Progress M-27M was launched on 28 April 2015, with a planned 6-hour rendezvous profile to the ISS.
During the launch, the spacecraft did achieve orbit but a malfunction occurred near the end of the upper stage burn shortly before the separation of the Progress spacecraft, generating a debris field and leaving the spacecraft spinning and unable to be fully controlled. The spacecraft is a total loss.
The 27th Progress-M 11F615A60 spacecraft with the serial number 426 was built by RKK Energia.
Launch
The spacecraft was launched on 28 April 2015 at 07:09 GMT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.[5]
Cargo
The spacecraft carried 2,357 kg (5,196 lb) of food, fuel and supplies, including 494 kg (1,089 lb) of propellant, 50 kg (110 lb) of oxygen, 420 kg (930 lb) of water, and 1,393 kg (3,071 lb) of spare parts, supplies and experiment hardware for the six members of the Expedition 43 crew aboard the International Space Station.[6]
Spacecraft failure
After reaching orbit, but before separation of the spacecraft from the rocket,[7] the communication with the vessel was lost. Video released from an onboard camera used for docking showed that the spacecraft was spinning wildly in space. Efforts to establish contact ended in failure.[8] Two more communication sessions were attempted on 28 April.[9]
On 29 April, it was announced that the spacecraft is out of control and plunging back to Earth.[10] 44 pieces of debris "in the vicinity of the resupply vehicle and its upper stage rocket body" are being tracked by space tracking systems; However, non-Russian ground observers have not been able, to confirm "if the debris is from the rocket body or vehicle itself".[11] A potential cause of the anomaly may be related to the upper stage rocket engine shutdown or with the separation of the Progress spacecraft from the upper stage.[11] A representative of the United States Air Force claimed that debris in the area indicated a blast.
"Given [the altitude of the debris] and the fact that Progress was found 30 to 40 kilometres above its intended orbit, we can say with confidence that there was some kind of blast at the moment of separation from the third stage of the rocket"[12]
The mission was declared a total loss after multiple unsuccessful communications attempts;[13] the spacecraft is expected to disintegrate in the Earth's atmosphere between May 7 and 11.[14]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Peat, Chris (29 April 2015). "PROGRESS-M 27M - Orbit". Heavens-Above. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ↑ "Progress Cargo Vessel Docking With Space Station Canceled". Sputnik International. Sputnik. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ↑ Chris Bergin (April 28, 2015). "Russian Progress M-27M suffering in space – wild rotational spin observed". NASASpaceflight.com.
- ↑ Stephen Clark (28 April 2015). "Antenna snag strikes Progress cargo freighter". Spaceflight Now.
- ↑ "Progress M-27M". Roscosmos. 28 April 2015.
- ↑ Clark, Stephen (29 April 2015). "Progress failure probe narrows in on separation from rocket". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
Roscosmos said in a statement Wednesday that mission control lost communications with the Progress spacecraft 1.5 seconds before the cargo carrier’s planned separation from the third stage of its Soyuz launcher.
- ↑ Harwood, William (28 April 2015). "Russians scramble to restore cargo ship communications". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ↑ Harwood, William (29 April 2015). "Russia gives up on Progress supply ship docking". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ↑ "Unmanned Russian spacecraft 'plunging to Earth'". Yahoo News. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Messier, Doug (29 April 2015). "Progress Appears Lost as Debris Detected". Parabolic Arc. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ↑ Oliphant, Roland (30 April 2015). "'Rocket explosion’ sent Russian spacecraft into tailspin". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ↑ Dunn, Marcia (29 April 2015). "http://www.sunherald.com/2015/04/29/6200800_space-station-crew-russias-spinning.html?rh=1". Sun Herald. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ↑ "Russian spacecraft Progress M-27M 'out of control'". BBC News. British Broadcasting Company. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||