Recent News Technology: Space "truck", "progress" has successfully docked with the ISS. A broken antenna decided not to touch

Friday, April 26, 2013

Space "truck", "progress" has successfully docked with the ISS. A broken antenna decided not to touch - NEWSru.com

space truck “Progress M-19M” has successfully docked with the International Space Station. The astronauts have already opened the hatches and took payloads delivered from Earth to orbit. Damage to the antenna, “Progress” navigation system that emerged during the flight, not fixed, and will not be fixed – the antenna, according to experts, is no longer needed.

order not to jeopardize the astronauts and to make matters worse, untwisted antenna docking system “course” will not touch, ITAR-TASS quoted words of the head of Roscosmos, Vladimir Popovkin.

“Antenna has fulfilled its function, it is no longer needed us. cosmonauts will not touch it, given that there is a pyro-fuses to open it,” – said Popovkin. His words were confirmed by Vitaly Lopota, head of the RSC “Energia”. He noted that “the antenna is no longer needed, it was only necessary to remove the cargo ship, so no transactions with it, we’re not going to spend”.

Lopota added: “We have no doubt that the ship successfully undock, but questioned whether the pairing is successful-slipped.” Docking of “Progress” with the ISS was successful, as the experts in the world have calculated all possible outcomes.

“Before docking of” Progress “has done a lot of work, we discussed all the possible contingencies, conducted experiments for the earth and made sure that the antenna does not hurt undisclosed docking” truck “with the ISS. Only after that decision was made to go on the dock, “- said Vladimir Popovkin.

“Progress” has brought to the ISS water, food, clothes, personal hygiene products, medical equipment, parcels from home, books, fuel for refueling. The ship also delivered food and sanitary facilities for the U.S. segment of the station. The astronauts have already withdrawn their “gifts” to open the hatch between the ISS and the cargo ship.

“hatches open,” – said the representative before the Mission Control Centre (MCC). “Progress M-19M” docked to the docking port of the service module “Zvezda”, “Interfax”. After checking the tightness of connections and pressure equalization between the ship and the station MCC has allowed the astronauts to open a passageway from the station to the ship. After opening the hatches astronauts began to unload the ship.