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Second time a charm: Progress spaceship re-docks ISS

Published time: July 29, 2012 05:35
Edited time: July 29, 2012 09:35
Russia's Progress М-15М docked (AFP Photo / Nasa)

The Russian freighter spacecraft Progress has successfully docked the International Space Station using a new digital automatic docking system. Last week an attempt to perform the maneuver failed.

The Progress M-15M engaged ISS’s Pirs module around 01:00 GMT on Sunday. The docking was controlled by the Kurs-NA system, an upgraded version of the older automatic docking system, which is currently used on the Russian Progress and Soyuz vehicles.

The new version had most of its analogue signal processing circuits replaced with more accurate, robust and light digital ones. It also has a smaller external antenna, which needs not to be tilted back just before the docking locks are engaged, as is the case with the current system.

Russian members of the ISS crew had to adjust their timetable to monitor the maneuver from the space station. Their Sunday sleeping time was broken into two periods for the sake of the night docking.

The previous attempt to test the new Kurs on July 24 failed. The spacecraft, which earlier delivered fresh supplies into orbit, undocked the ISS, got into a position at a distance of some 161 kilometers from it and began re-docking. But when the Progress was just 15 kilometers from its target, the system ordered that the maneuver be aborted.

Engineers managed to track down the problem to a proximity sensor fault, head of the Russian ISS mission control Vladimir Solovyev told the media on Tuesday.

“We’ve been testing Kurs-NA hardware. We had to work on software too,” he said.

“We failed with the first attempt. Then we calculated everything, did some simulations on the ground. Now we’ve done it,”
he added.

The Progress will remain docked for at least one more day. Then it will remain in orbit until mid-August to carry out a scientific experiment. Afterwards the spacecraft will be de-orbited over the Pacific Ocean.

Comments (5)

A.Smith 29.07.2012 22:59

Every-time the goose stepping Zionists feel they have a issue to slam, demonize and exploit the opinion against Russia's missile technology, that hit piece will show up in written and radio programs as part of the Satanically evil Zionist directed PSYop on the Western/USA citizens.

It wasn't until the Satanically evil Zionist leaders were caught like deer crossing a road in a car's high beams when Russia fired off one of it's mobile ICBM Topol ballistic nuclear missile near Apartheid Israel which arced thru the Apartheid Israeli night sky in a cascading, swirling light that Western observers began understanding what so-called experts had claimed were Russian ICBM missile failures were in fact extremely precise nozzle maneuverings to defeat USA/Israel's ABM sites and to land the launch vehicle in a nearby impact zone (extremely tricky as solid fuelled ICBM's want to travel 3,000 miles).

Russi a's ballistic commanders have repeatedly pulled off that extremely tricky maneuver now like clockwork and in the nearby Apartheid Israel ICBM test, the 10 MIRV'd test warheads were still accelerating at impact making them extremely difficult if not impossible to strike with Israel's ABM while each of those 10 MIRV'd warheads would vaporize the alleged human trafficking capitol on earth Tel Aviv, Israel to the cheers of Billions around the world.

Russia 's ballistic and missile expertise and technology is very advanced and if USA/Israel continue to threaten Russia,China with WW3, the Satanically evil Zionists will find out their free USA desert bunkers didn't protect them one iota.

Syria's Assad should make sure Hezbollah commanders have copies of Syria's Bioweapons agents to respond with if USA/Israel directly invades/attacks Syria. If USA/Turkey/Israel directly invades the Kurdish region in Syria, Assad's commanders should supply the Kurdish commanders with copies of Syria's Bioweapons agent's to respond inside Turkey with.

+121

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Mohamed Al Hashimi (unregistered) 29.07.2012 16:41

Russia needs to care about North Pole strongly because it is very strategic place with ICBM missiles and it is like a queen in the chess table. 
Best Wishes 

+30

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Miro Markovic (unregistered) 29.07.2012 15:25

I am really glad that the Russian engineers have solved the docking problem successfully. Congratulations to all of them. There is nothing wrong if there are some glitches in such a complex operation in the Earth's orbit.  Only those that have no knowledge whatsoever tend to criticise and make vicious remarks on account of the Russian technologies and abilities in spite of the fact that Russia is the only country in our world today that can accomplish those complex engineering challenges. Russia, be proud of your engineers, scientists and your noble people! The world salutes you. You are really a great nation.

+114

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