The ISS Progress 51 cargo craft completed a two-day journey to the International Space Station when it was captured at the Zvezda service module Friday at 8:25 a.m. EDT; the cargo craft completed a hard mate when the docking hooks were deployed at 8:34 a.m.
Flight Engineers Pavel Vinogradov and Roman Romanenko monitored the docking while at the controls of TORU, the Russian telerobotically operated rendezvous system, ready to take manual control of the automated docking process if difficulties arose.
After conducting leak checks at the docking interface and opening the hatch to the cargo craft, the Expedition 35 crew members will begin the long process of inventorying and unloading its 3.1 tons of food, fuel, and equipment.
The unpiloted cargo craft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 6:12 a.m. Wednesday, loaded with 1,764 pounds of propellant, 48 pounds of oxygen, 57 pounds of air, 926 pounds of water, and 3,483 pounds of spare parts, experiment hardware, and other supplies for the station crew.
Unlike its three predecessors, Progress 51 was relegated to the typical two-day rendezvous because of the phasing and orbital mechanics associated with its launch date. It replaces the trash-filled ISS Progress 49 cargo craft which undocked from the station’s Zvezda service module April 15.
Progress 51 will be filled with trash and station discards then undocked from the station June 11 to make way for the June 15 arrival of the European Space Agency’s “Albert Einstein” Automated Transfer Vehicle 4.
This article originally appeared on NASA’s website, which can be viewed by clicking here: Progress
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It needs to be more clear that the ‘1,764 pounds of propellant’ is for ISS engines and is not the enormously larger amount consumed in lifting Progress 51 to the ISS.
Noel,
Be sure to explain that to NASA (this is a repost from the space agency’s website).
Sincerely, Jason Rhian – Editor, AmericaSpace