Progress Resupply Ship Redocks With ISS After 2 Days of Tests

The Russian Progress 53 resupply cargo craft, which departed the International Space Station on April 23, has re-docked with the orbiting laboratory after conducting tests on a new automated rendezvous system.

A view of the International Space Station taken from Progress external cameras

The Progress cargo ship, which undocked from the aft end of the station's Zvezda Service Module on Wednesday April 23, completed important tests and evaluations of its automated rendezvous and docking system, before re-docking with the station's Russian segment at 13:13 Irish Time this afternoon, as the ISS flew 260 miles high over eastern Kazakhstan.

During testing, teams on the ground in the Russian Mission Control Room near Moscow commanded the Progress to back away to a distance of 500km(311 miles) from the ISS.

The Progress completed today's automated docking using the new KURS-NA rendezvous system, which uses just a single antenna, allowing four others to be removed. It is hoped that if these tests are satisfactory, then future Progress vehicles will be lighter, use less power, and possess updated electronics. This will in turn allow more cargo to be transported to the International Space Station.

Today's redocking comes just two days after NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Steve Swanson successfully completed a spacewalk which lasted just over an hour and a half to replace a faulty computer outside of the station.

As for the Progress, the Expedition 39 crew will open the hatches between the craft and the station, then fill it with trash and other unwanted items no longer needed, before it undocks from the station for a final time on June 9 to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.

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Cosmonauts Yurchikin and Misurkin Complete 6.5 Hour EVA

Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station have successfully completed an Extra-Vehicular Activity(EVA) on the exterior of the International Space Station.

Spacewalker Yurchikin(left) and Misurkin
credit: NASA

Expedition 36 Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikin, and Alexander Misurkin of the Russian Federal Space Agecncy donned their Orlan spacesuits and got straight to work on the tasks on hand, after leaving the Pirs Docking Compartment airlock at 2:32 p.m. GMT.

The majority of today's work took place on the exterior of the station's Zarya Module. Yurchikin and Misurkin firstly replaced a regulator panel that has expired in the Russian coolant system, before moving on to the installation of a series of cable clamps in preparation for the next Russian EVA, scheduled for August 15.

The spacewalking duo then routed cables which will provide power and data ahead of the arrival of the new Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module(MLM) Nauka, which is expected to launch to the ISS later this year. Nauka will replace the Pirs Docking Compartment, which was launched in 2001, and will be de-orbited after it becomes the first ISS module to be decommissioned. Nauka will serve as the primary Russian research module aboard the orbiting laboratory. It will be fully equipped with crew quarters, a toilet, and the all-important scientific laboratory.

Fyodor Yurchikin during the EVA
credit: NASA

Yurchikin and Misurkin also spent time retrieving and deploying a number of scientific experiments located on the station's exterior, allowing them to be exposed to the vacuum of space for their specified lifespan. One such experiment is the Photon-Gamma Experiment, which measures gamma splashes and optical
radiation during terrestrial lightning and thunder conditions, from a portable workstation on Zvezda. This will be removed to make way for the installation of an Optical Telescope on future EVAs. The Zvezda Service Module was also the focus of a lot of today's activity, with the spacewalkers testing the KURS docking equipment ahead of the arrival of the MLM. Misurkin and Yurchikin also installed some gap spanners to aid future spacewalkers.

Today's spacewalk by Misurkin and Yurchikin is the first of five EVAs planned for Expedition 36. A further three Russian spacewalks will be performed by Yurchikin and Misurkin, mainly focusing on preparing space station systems for the arrival of the MLM. Two US EVAs will be performed by Expedition 36 Flight Engineers Chris Cassidy of NASA and Luca Parmitano of ESA during the remainder of Expedition 36.

  

ATV-4 Albert Einstein Docks to ISS

The European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle "Albert Einstein" has docked to the International Space Station ten days after launching from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

The ATV docked to the station's Zvezda Service Module at 2:07 p.m. GMT while the ISS was flying 258 miles high over The Pacific Ocean. Albert Einstein is the heaviest Automated Transfer Vehicle that has ever visited the orbiting laboratory, and is loaded with 6.6 tonnes of cargo for the astronauts and operating systems aboard the orbiting complex.

ATV-4 Albert Einstein Approaches the ISS
credit: NASASpaceflight

After launch on June 5, ATV performed two rendezvous burns to refine its path to the ISS.

As ATV-4 made its way closer to the ISS, a further series of burns were performed to align the ATV with the docking port located on the Service Module. Astronauts aboard the ISS watched closely as Albert Einstein neared its way towards station, and were on hand to oversee
proceedings as the automated docking occurred.

Over the course of its time docked to Zvezda, ATV will deliver fuel, water and air to ensure the continued operation of the station. Its thruster's will also maintain the station's orbit in order to counteract the orbital decay imposed by the ATV during its time docked to the International Space Station.

Albert Einstein is expected to remain docked to the station for around six months, after which it will go through a destructive re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere filled station waste and other used cargo no longer needed.

To see what it is like inside the ATV, watch this video as Expedition 26/27 Flight Engineer Paolo Nespoli takes you on a tour of the ATV-2 Johannes Kepler back in 2011.

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