Progress MS-18 (Russian:Прогресс МC-18), Russian production No. 447, identified byNASA asProgress 79P, was aProgress spaceflight operated byRoscosmos to resupply theInternational Space Station (ISS). This was the 170th flight of a Progress spacecraft.
TheProgress MS is an uncrewed freighter based on theProgress-M featuring improved avionics. This improved variant first launched on 21 December 2015. It has the following improvements:[3][4][5][6]
New external compartment that enables it to deploy satellites. Each compartment can hold up to four launch containers. First time installed onProgress MS-03.
Enhanced redundancy thanks to the addition of a backup system of electrical motors for the docking and sealing mechanism.
ImprovedMicrometeoroid (MMOD) protection with additional panels in the cargo compartment.
Luch Russianrelay satellites link capabilities enable telemetry and control even when not in direct view of ground radio stations.
GNSS autonomous navigation enables real time determination of the status vector and orbital parameters dispensing with the need of ground station orbit determination.
Real time relative navigation thanks to direct radio data exchange capabilities with the space station.
New digital radio that enables enhanced TV camera view for the docking operations.
TheUkrainian Chezara Kvant-V on board radio system and antenna/feeder system has been replaced with aUnified Command Telemetry System (UCTS).
Replacement of theKurs A withKurs NA digital system.
On 3 February 2021, Roskosmos approved the updated flight program to the International Space Station for 2021, highlighted with the addition of two permanent modules to the Russian Segment of the outpost. A short tourist visit to the ISS at the end of the year also got the green light.[7]
ASoyuz-2.1a launched Progress MS-18 to the International Space Station fromBaikonur Site 31 on 28 October 2021 on a two-day, 36 orbit rendezvous profile.[8][9][10] If the air leak repairs planned for Zvezda's PrK chamber (delivery of sealing patches aboard Progress MS-16 in February 2021) were successful, then 3 hours 20 minutes after the launch Progress MS-18 would have attempted to automatically dock to Zvezda's aft port.[7]
The vehicle docked to the aft port of theZvezda Service Module (SM), on 30 October 2021, at 01:31:19 UTC, and was planned to remain in orbit for 215 days, supporting theExpedition 66 mission aboard the ISS.[11]
The Progress MS-18 remained docked at the station until 1 June 2022, when it departed with trash and re-entered theEarth's atmosphere for destruction over theSouth Pacific Ocean.
^Krebs, Gunter (1 December 2015)."Progress-MS 01-19". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved3 October 2020.
^"Progress MS-18".NSSDCA. NASA. 10 February 2021. Retrieved15 February 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
^Zak, Anatoly."Progress-MS". RussianSpaceWeb.com. Retrieved3 October 2020.
^Blau, Patrick (1 December 2015)."Progress MS Spacecraft". Spaceflight101.com. Retrieved17 November 2020.
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
_(cropped).jpg)
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
