Soyuz 2-1B Launch:

The Soyuz-2-1 rocket is a descendent of the R-7 Semyorka, the world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile. The R-7 was designed by Sergei Korolev, and first flew in 1957. A modified version was used to launch the first satellite, Sputnik 1, on 4 October of that year.

The R-7 formed the basis for the Luna, Vostok, Voskhod, Molniya and Soyuz families of rockets, and to date all Soviet and Russian manned spaceflights have been launched using rockets derived from the R-7.

The Soyuz, which first flew in 1966, was a modification of the Voskhod rocket featuring an upgraded and lighter telemetry system, and more fuel efficient engines. It was initially used to launch only Soyuz spacecraft; however with the introduction of the Soyuz-U in 1973 it began to launch other satellites as well.

The Soyuz-U, which remains in service, is the most-flown orbital launch system ever developed, having made over 750 flights to date, plus around 90 more in the Soyuz-U2 configuration optimized to use synthetic propellant.

The Soyuz-2 was developed from the older Soyuz models, and features digital flight control systems and modernized engines. It first flew in 2004, and this is its twelfth launch.

Two variants are currently in service; the Soyuz-2-1A, and the Soyuz-2-1B. The latter variant was used for the Personal launch, with the vehicle featuring an RD-0124 third stage engine, which provided additional thrust. The RD-0124 was declared operational on 3 May 2011.

A third configuration, the Soyuz-2-1v, is currently under development and is expected to make its maiden flight in the coming months. That variant features an NK-33 engine in place of the RD-108A used on the core stages of the other configurations, and does not include the strap-on boosters used by other configurations.

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The Soyuz-2 also forms the basis for the Soyuz-ST rocket, which made its maiden flight from Kourou in French Guiana. The Soyuz-ST is optimized to fly from Kourou, and also incorporates a flight termination system and a modified telemetry system.

The core stage of the Soyuz-2, the Blok-A, is powered by a single RD-108A engine. This is augmented for the first two minutes of flight by four boosters, each of which is powered by an RD-107A engine. An optional Fregat Upper Stage – powered by an S5.98M engine – uses unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine as propellant and nitrogen tetroxide as an oxidizer.

The Fregat first flew in 2000, and has been used on Soyuz-U, Soyuz-FG, Soyuz-2 and Zenit rockets. It was not, however, used on the Soyuz 2-1A launch with Persona.

The satellite launched on Friday was in the Persona class of Russian reconnaissance satellites, derived from the Resurs DK class of remote sensing satellite. The history of this range of bird is derived from the Soviet Yantar reconnaissance satellites.

The satellites optical subsystems include a triple mirror telescope with a primary mirror diameter of 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) and focal length of 20 metres (66 ft). The satellite is understood to have a mass of 6,500 kilograms (14,000 lb). It is expected to operation for seven years.

The first satellite, identified as Kosmos 2441, was launched into a 750 km sun synchronous orbit on 26 July 2008, atop a Soyuz 2-1B rocket from LC-43/4 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. However, it failed to return useful imagery due to an electrical malfunction.

This second satellite – built by TsSKB-Progress, with optics by LOMO and the Vavilov State Optical Institute – was reported to have separated successfully after launch according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

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Soyuz TMA-09M:

The trio launched at 4:31 pm EDT (2:31 am Kazakh time, May 29), with their Soyuz-FG carrier rocket tasked with sending the Soyuz TMA-09M into its initial orbit.

Under the command of cosmonaut Yurchikhin, the Russian veteran marked his fourth mission to the ISS, following his debut ride to the orbital outpost on Shuttle Atlantis during her STS-112 mission.

Joining the Commander is Karen Nyberg, who was selected as an astronaut in 2000. Nyberg previously flew in space as a mission specialist aboard space shuttle Discovery on STS-124 in 2008.

Rounding out the crew is Expedition 36/37 flight engineer Luca Parmitano. The Italian native will conduct maintenance tasks, replace a camera mounted on Japan’s Kibo module and retrieve science payloads. One of his spacewalks will also prepare for the arrival of Russia’s Multipurpose Laboratory

Normally, Soyuz vehicles take two days to arrive at the ISS. However, following the Soyuz TMA-08M six hours rendezvous, the well practiced procedure – that was initially demonstrated on recent Progress resupply missions – Soyuz TMA-09M was the second crewed vehicle to take the short cut option.

The desire to dock to the ISS after just six hours stems from the fact that spending two days in the cramped interior of the Soyuz along with two other crewmates is known to be a stressful and uncomfortable time for astronauts and cosmonauts, many of whom are suffering from symptoms of space sickness at the same time.

Thus, being able to go from the ground to the ISS in a single day will be a big advantage to Soyuz crews.

Such a fast rendezvous was never attempted before as it requires extremely precise orbital adjustments from the ISS, and extremely precise orbital insertion by the Soyuz-FG booster, which was only deemed possible following a study conducted last year, which showed that such accuracy was achievable with the existing Soyuz-FG booster and modernized Soyuz TMA-M series spacecraft.

Following liftoff and successful orbital insertion shortly thereafter, Soyuz TMA-09M immediately performed its first two engine burns on its first orbit of the Earth, which were pre-programmed into the Soyuz’s on-board computer prior to launch.

On the second orbit, actual orbital parameters were uplinked from a Russian Ground Site (RGS), which allowed for a further eight rendezvous burns to be performed more precisely over the next five hours of flight.

During this time, the Soyuz crew were able to unstrap from their Kazbek couches and enter the Orbital Module (BO) to stretch their legs and use the bathroom facilities. However, due to the extremely tight schedule and high workload, they did not have time to take off their Sokol launch and entry suits, although they were able to take off their suit gloves and open their helmets.

Docking to the Earth-facing Rassvet module of the space station occurred at 10:10 pm EDT – seven minutes ahead of schedule – with Russian controllers noting they achieved a new launch-to-ISS docking record for the crewed vehicle.

This was followed by the opening of the hatches between the Soyuz and ISS at 11:55pm EDT, at which point Nyberg, Yurchikhin and Parmitano were greeted by Expedition 36 Commander Pavel Vinogradov, Flight engineer Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy of NASA – who have been aboard the station since late March.

Nyberg, Yurchikhin and Parmitano will remain aboard the station until mid-November. Cassidy, Vinogradov and Misurkin will return to Earth in mid-September, leaving Yurchikhin as the Expedition 37 commander.

Nyberg, Yurchikhin and Parmitano will remain in orbit until mid-November and will be joined in September by three additional crew members, Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy of the Russian Federal Space Agency and NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins.

Visiting Vehicle Evaluations:

An Ariane 5 ECA is set to loft the next Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-4) to the ISS early next month, followed by the next Russian Progress in July. Japan’s HTV cargo ship will set sail in early August.

Evaluations are taking place into the upcoming Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) missions, with Orbital’s Cygnus first set to validate its capabilities via its debut launch on an Antares launch vehicle in mid-September.

A successful OrB-D mission will allow Orbital to press ahead to the first CRS flight, known as OrB-1, with Cygnus aiming to return to the ISS at the end of the year.

However, ongoing discussions are taking place relating to a potential conflict with the next SpaceX Dragon, which has already slipped into December. CRS-3/SpX-3 is facing delays due to what sources claim are “numerous problems” with the new Falcon 9 V1.1 launch vehicle, which is due to launch two payloads before it sends Dragon to the Station.

With CRS-3 slipping, one of the CRS missions will have to move to change its docked period to Node-2 Nadir between January 26 to February 25, 2014, L2 sources claim. Providing Orbital’s OrB-D mission proceeds as planned, allowing for a December launch of OrB-1, along with what may be additional slips to CRS-3, it is likely Dragon will have to move to the 2014 slot.

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Soyuz TMA-07M:

It was an eventful end to Commander Hadfield’s stay on the ISS, as the keys to the Station were handed over to Russian Commander, Pavel Vinogradov.

All three of the returning crewmembers have played their part in making the 146 days of their Expedition 35 mission a memorable period in the Station’s history, not least during the latter part of their stay on the orbital outpost.

Roman Romanenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) conducted his final major role during his tour of duty during the Russian EVA in April, during which he worked alongside the veteran Vinogradov.

While the EVA involved routine maintenance on the Russian Segment (RS), Romanenko provided some comical moments during the spacewalk, even causing the Russian translator to giggle as her commentary was broadcast over NASA TV.

“I don’t like to work at night time, I’m afraid of the darkness,” not long after joking about how “for some reason the Earth is round,” which was met by bemused silence from the Russian CAPCOM in Moscow.

There was less time for joking during the unscheduled EVA that was conducted by Spacewalkers Chris Cassidy and the third person to be riding home on Soyuz TMA-07M, Tom Marshburn.

The duo ventured outside of the Quest Airlock on Saturday, in search of the source of an ammonia leak that had been observed less than two days before the spacewalkers exited the Quest airlock.

The duo investigated the cooling loop of power channel 2B on the P6 Truss of the Station, and while the system appeared to be clean, the installation of a new Pump Flow Control Subassembly (PFCS).appears to have resolved the issue.

Although it will take weeks before it is known for sure that the leak is an issue of the past, so far all indications appear to show the system is now working nominally.

Prior to the departure of the three crewmembers, Commander Hadfield uploaded a video that has since gone viral.

The Canadian astronaut showed off his singing prowess with a rendition of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, shot on board the ISS. The moving video received praise from Bowie himself, as it was revealed a member of the iconic singer’s tour band was involved in the reproduction of the song.

“The task was in front of me. I came up with a piano part. I then enlisted my friend, producer and fellow Canadian Joe Corcoran to take my piano idea and Chris’ vocal and blow it up into a fully produced song,” noted Emm Gryner. “Drums! mellotrons! fuzz bass! We also incorporated into the track ambient space station noises which Chris had put on his Soundcloud.

“I was mostly blown away by how pure and earnest Chris’ singing is on this track. Like weightlessness and his voice agreed to agree.

“And voila! And astronaut sings Space Oddity in space! I was so honoured to be asked to be a part of this. You wouldn’t get too many chances to make a recording like this and not only that, to make music with someone who – through his vibrant communications with kids in schools to his breathtaking photos to his always patient and good-humoured demeanour – has done more for science and space than anyone else this generation.

“Planet earth IS blue, and there’s nothing left for Chris Hadfield to do. Right. Safe travels home Commander!”

In preparation for that safe trip home, the Soyuz TMA-07M crew donned their Sokol launch and entry suits, closed the hatch between the Orbital Module (BO) and Descent Module (SA), and strapped themselves into their Kazbek couches inside the SA.

Undocking was on schedule at 23:08 UTC, which was followed by two separations burns to depart the vicinity of the ISS.

“”We can see the entire ISS, with the solar arrays stretched out like arms saying farewell to us,” said Romanenko, who commanded the Soyuz as it departed from the ISS.

Following a few hours of free flight, Soyuz TMA-07M made its de-orbit burn, followed by a landing near the town of Dzhezkazgan on the Steppe of Kazakhstan.

Now the crew are extracted from the SA by Russian recovery forces, they will be flown by MI-8 helicopters to a nearby airfield, where the crew will part ways, with Hadfield and Marshburn boarding a NASA Gulfstream III aircraft to be flown back to Ellington Field in Houston, Texas – via two refuelling stops in Glasgow, Scotland, and Goose Bay, Canada. Romanenko will be flown back to Star City, outside Moscow.

Vinogradov, Chris Cassidy of NASA and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin will tend to the station as a three-person crew for two weeks until the arrival of three new crew members, NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency.

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Progress M-19M:

As per usual, an old Progress – in this case, M-17M (49P) – cleared the way for the new Progress to arrive at the ISS, by departing the aft port of the Zveda Service Module on the Russian segment on April 15.

The Progress still provided a useful role ahead of its re-entry and destruction above the Pacific Ocean, carrying out a number of “radar burns” to help Russian ground stations calibrate their systems.

The resupply ship is loaded with almost three tons of food, fuel, supplies and experiment hardware for the six crew members aboard the orbital laboratory. The cargo also includes a new Russian treadmill, that will replace the old TVIS treadmill.

This mission used the traditional two day rendezvous profile to make its way to the ISS.

Originally, this Progress was set to repeat the “same day” rendezvous that was successfully demonstrated on the Progress M-16M/48P mission in August 2012, again with Progress M-17M/49P in October 2012, and more recently with Progress M-18M/50P.

However, the April 22 launch was delayed due to it conflicting with the recent Soyuz 2-1A mission, that carried an array of creatures into space aboard the Russian biological-research capsule, BION-M.

The new ‘fast rendezvous’ approach was detailed in a Russian document describing the new rendezvous profile, which was seen by NASASpaceflight.com.

The purpose of the maneuver is to shorten the time it takes between launches and dockings of Russian vehicles to the ISS, which usually stands at about 50 hours.

While the primary driver for this capability is to cut down on the amount of time that crews must spend inside the cramped Soyuz spacecraft between launch and docking, the maneuver was first being tested out with a few Progress vehicles in order to prove the concept, and demonstrate that it can be performed safely and successfully.

Progress vehicles can also benefit from the faster rendezvous however, as it allows time-critical biological payloads to reach the ISS very soon after launch, as other vehicles, such as Japan’s HTV and Europe’s ATV, can take up to a week to reach the ISS following launch.

The first crewed Soyuz to test try out the fast lane to the ISS, TMA-08M, successfully carried out the six hour trip last month.

For this Progress mission, Russian controllers were soon working on an issue relating to the KURS antenna, which did not deploy as planned.

“51P Progress KURS Antenna Not Deployed:  KURS-A Antenna did not deploy after separation. In current configuration it interferes with docking,” cited the opening note on L2′s ISS rolling update section.

“It may be possible to soft dock and retract probe in current configuration, but cannot drive the hooks.”

However, Russian officials – speaking to Interfax – noted that even if they fail to deploy the antenna, Progress will still be able to make it to 200 meter from the ISS, ahead of an automatic docking.

A software patch was also sent up from Russian controllers to aid the KURS approach, with the manual TORU system on standby, in case of a KURS failure.

As Progress approached the ISS, TV cameras on the Station provided the first view of the antenna, which appeared to be restricted by the docking collar.

With NASA teams also analyzing the situation from the Johnson Space Center (JSC) ahead of its arrival at the orbital outpost, the main area of concern related to the potential for damage on the ISS, as the Progress docked with the antenna out of its nominal configuration.

The expansive notes show a level of caution from the NASA teams, such as the potential for contact between the off-nominal KURS hardware and an antenna on the ISS in the location of the docking port – to the point an EVA would be required to repair it after Progress departs.

“KURS antenna could collide with the high gain antenna (ОНА) pin-locking assembly and the (4АО-ВКА) antenna on the SM. This could result in damage to the (4АО-ВКА) antenna,” added a specific L2 section on the Progress M-19M situation.

“External inspection of the [4АО-ВКА] antenna will also be required when the Progress vehicle undocks.  If the test is failed or there are comments during the external inspection, EVA will be required to repair or replace the [4АО-ВКА] antenna.

“When planning replacement, it should be taken into consideration that the structural, mechanical, and electrical interfaces of the [4АО-ВКА] antenna are not designed for operations during EVA.”

Docking of the Progress was almost right on schedule at 12:25 UTC on Friday, and appeared to go to plan, with the ISS crew noting they did not hear any strange noises, before joking they could head out on an EVA in an hour to have a look. Following soft dock, the docking probe was retracted, resulting in hard dock 10 minutes later.

Progress M-19M joined three other Russian vehicles currently residing at the orbital outpost, namely the Progress M-18M/50P – mated to Pirs, and two Soyuz spacecraft, 07M – docked to the Rassvet module, and 08M – docked to the Poisk module.

Progress M-18M/50P will itself be undocked from the ISS on July 21, ahead of the arrival of Progress M-20M/52P.

The Progress’ booster, the Soyuz-U, was launched from the PU-5 LC1 ‘Gagarinskiy Start’ (17P32-5) launch complex at the famous Cosmodrome.

The Soyuz-U was developed as a standardized launch system, to replace the Voskhod and Soyuz and provide commonality with the Molniya-M. It first flew in May 1973, and in 1976 the original Soyuz, Soyuz-M and Voskhod were all retired, with subsequent launches of their payloads being conducted by Soyuz-U rockets.

The Soyuz-U2 configuration, which was optimized to use synthetic propellant allowing it to carry more payload, was introduced in 1982, and used for around 90 launches before being retired in 1995.

With around 750 flights, the Soyuz-U is the most-flown orbital launch system ever developed. It remains in service, and in the last few years it has mostly been used to launch Progress missions to the International Space Station, as well as occasional military payloads. Recent launches have used the Soyuz-U PVB version, which features additional fireproofing.

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ISS and the 2014 Winter Olympics:

The 2014 Winter Olympics – the 22nd Winter Games – will be held between the 7th and 23rd February, 2014. Sochi was selected as the host city on 4 July, 2007 during the 119th IOC Session in Guatemala City, defeating bids from Salzburg, Austria; and Pyeongchang, South Korea.

This will be the first Olympic Games to be held in the Russian Federation, following on from the 1980 Summer Olympics, which were held in Moscow during the era of the Soviet Union.

The torch relay will begin in Moscow on October 7, 2013 – before passing 83 Russian cities and arriving at Sochi on the day of the opening ceremony, February 7, 2014. However, there will be a twist during the November leg of the relay.

Per L2 sources in the L2 Flight Assignment Section- and since reported by the Russian media – part of the relay will take place at the International Space Station (ISS), using a torch with a simulated flame.

To achieve the required timeline, planners have moved forward the schedule for the expeditions, by changing the launch date of the Soyuz TMA-11M crew – consisting of Mikhail Vladislavovich Tyurin (Roscosmos), Rick Mastracchio (NASA) and Koichi Wakata (JAXA) – from November 25 to November 7.

This will allow for a four day direct hand-over, with Soyuz TMA-09M – and its crew of Karen Nyberg (NASA), Fyodor Yurchikhin (Roscosmos) and Luca Parmitano (ESA) – returning on November 11.

With the torch heading uphill to the Station on Soyuz TMA-11M, a Russian EVA will take place in-between the four day handover.

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The spacewalk – known as RS EVA-36 – is a required task, which will include the installation of the high-resolution camera “UrtheCast” on universal workplace URM-D, located on Zvezda module.

However, it will also include a first-of-its-kind event, as the plan includes the simulated Olympic torch to be taken outside of the ISS, allowing for a leg of the relay to take place in the vacuum of space.

The torch relay EVA will be performed by the two Russian cosmonauts from the Expedition 37/8 crew, namely Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky.

With the torch brought back inside the ISS, it will then fly back to Earth on the departing Soyuz TMA-09M, which will be undocking from MRM-1 Rassvet port.

All that is known about the torch that will ride into space is that it is an “imitation flame”, for reasons that are obvious when considering both the safety requirements inside the vehicles involved, and the vacuum of space outside the ISS.

As part of the schedule realignment, the undocking of Europe’s ATV-4 cargo ship will now take place on November 4, clearing the Zvezda Service Module for the arrival of Soyuz TMA-11M.

Following the departure of Soyuz TMA-09M, November 18 will mark the re-location of Soyuz TMA-11M from the Zvezda SM to the MRM-1 Rassvet port, followed by the arrival of the Russian cargo ship Progress M-21M to the Zvezda SM on November 23.

The previous associations between the space program and the Olympic torch were seen during STS-101, when a replica of the Olympic torch was carried aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis.  The torch relay also passed through the Kennedy Space Center, en-route to the Atlanta Games, ahead of STS-79′s mission to MIR.

On the Russian side, the Salyut 6 space station cosmonauts – Leonid Popov and Valery Ryumin – had a role in the opening ceremony of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Also, Olympic Cauldron at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – which hosted the 1984 Summer Games – was lit for several days in 1986, in memory of Space Shuttle Challenger and her crew, lost during the disaster of STS-51L.

(Images: Via NASA.gov)

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Commercial Crew:

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is currently funding three private companies to build transportation systems that can remove NASA’s reliance on the Russian Soyuz to ferry American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

This process is currently in the Commercial Crew integrated Capability (CCiCAP) stage, maturing from the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) drive that resulted in three companies earning NASA money to develop their spacecraft to be able to carry NASA astronauts.

It is likely that only one of the contenders will be selected to win the long-term NASA contract to carry out the role of ferrying NASA crews to the ISS.

The current favorite is understood to be SpaceX, who have already conducted three successful missions to the ISS with the cargo version of their Dragon spacecraft, launched via the company’s Falcon 9.

However, they are by no means runaway favorites, with Boeing’s CST-100 already setting up base at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser spaceplane offering NASA “dissimilar redundancy” as the only option that isn’t a capsule.

Both CST-100 and Dream Chaser will also use the hugely reliable Atlas V as their launch vehicle of choice.

All three companies have been reporting steady progress during the development phase, with Boeing the latest to make a positive announcement about their crew-capable spacecraft

Friday’s update noted they had successfully completed a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) on the Launch Vehicle Adapter (LVA) – the component that will be used to connect the CST-100 to the Atlas V’s Centuar Upper Stage.

The review is one of six performance milestones Boeing has completed for the CCiCap initiative, a process that totals 19 milestones under NASA’s $460m award. The company also completed the recently completed the Engineering Release (ER) 2.0 software review and the Landing and Recovery Ground Systems and Ground Communications design review.

“The PDR was an outstanding integrated effort by the Boeing, ULA and NASA teams,” said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager of Boeing Commercial Programs. “The ULA design leverages the heritage hardware of the Atlas V to integrate with the CST-100, setting the baseline for us to proceed to wind tunnel testing and the Launch Segment-level PDR in June.”

All three CCiCAP companies have confirmed they are targeting a crewed test of their spacecraft sometime in the 2016 time frame – with SpaceX hinting they may be ready by 2015. Notably, the crews will be selected internally, from within the company roster, as opposed to using NASA astronauts.

Should the test missions prove to be successful, a winning company will be selected by NASA to conduct the first crewed mission to the International Space Station – a mission known as US Crew Vehicle -1 (USCV-1).

As of November of last year, the launch date for USCV-1 was November 30, 2016 – per the Flight Planning Integration Panel (FPIP) presentation (L2), resulting in a docking to the Node 2 Forward port – via the use of an ISS Docking Adapter (IDA) attached to PMA-2 – on December 2, 2016.

However, the March update for the FPIP presentation (L2) shows a full one year slip to the USCV-1 mission, with a launch date penciled in for November 30, 2017, followed by a docking on December 2, 2017.

The USCV-2 through to USCV-6 are shown to launch at intervals of six months, with a Russian Soyuz penciled in to provide a back up role “in the event the US Crewed Vehicle is unavailable” through to the USCV-4 mission in 2019.

The slip is not official and the FPIP presentation is a planning document, meaning its information is preliminary. However, like its Shuttle equivalent – the Flight Assignment Working Group (FAWG) documents (L2) – changes to the schedule always begin at this stage of planning, and almost always become the reality.

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As to the reason for the slip, sources point to the squeeze on long-term funding projections as the major schedule driver.

Also, according to Russian media, NASA began negotiations with Roscosmos in February, with a view to extending their deal to purchase seats on the Russian Soyuz by another year, taking the arrangement into the middle of 2017.

A confirmed delay to the USCV flights will impact the ISS in several ways, not least because the USCV missions will carry four crewmembers, meaning that once they dock to the ISS, the crew of the station will be boosted to seven – allowing significant extra research activities to be performed.

Notably, one of the crewmembers on the USCV will be Russian – just as one American crewmember will continue to be rotated on the Soyuz. This is done in order to ensure that a US crewmember is always present on the ISS, even when no USCV is docked to the station.

It is not known at this point whether the seat on the USCV will be provided to Russia in exchange for a US seat on the Soyuz.

(Images: L2 Content, SNC, ULA, Boeing)

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Soyuz TMA-08M crew:

Soyuz TMA-08M was commanded by veteran Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov, who at 59 years old will become the oldest professional person ever to fly on the ISS. He was born on August 31, 1953 in Magadan, Russia.

Prior to being selected as a cosmonaut in March 1992, he served as an engineer at the RSC Energia company. He has completed two previous spaceflights – the Soyuz TM-26 mission to the Mir space station from August 1997 to February 1998, and Soyuz TMA-8/Expedition 13 to the ISS from March to September 2006.

Also flying on Soyuz TMA-08M was rookie Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. The 35 year old Misurkin was born on September 23, 1977 in Yershichi, Smolensk region, in Russia, and was selected as a cosmonaut in 2006 after a career as a Major in the Russian Air Force.

Rounding out the crew was veteran NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, who made his first Soyuz flight after flying on the STS-127 Shuttle mission in July 2009.

Cassidy, now 43, was born on January 4, 1970, in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. Prior to being selected as an astronaut in May 2004, he had a storied career as a Commander in the United States Navy, which included time as a Navy SEAL, for which he earned the title of “most awesome astronaut bio” in an amusing Chris Cassidy STS-127 flight rule document, available to download on L2.

Soyuz TMA-08M accelerated rendezvous:

Unlike previous Soyuz missions to the ISS, which have all docked to the station two days after launch, Soyuz TMA-08M docked to the ISS just six hours after launch, in a now well practiced procedure that has been demonstrated on the last three Progress resupply missions – however never before on a crewed flight.

The desire to dock to the ISS after just six hours stems from the fact that spending two days in the cramped interior of the Soyuz along with two other crewmates is known to be a stressful and uncomfortable time for astronauts and cosmonauts, many of whom are suffering from symptoms of space sickness at the same time.

Thus, being able to go from the ground to the ISS in a single day will be a big advantage to Soyuz crews.

Such a fast rendezvous was never attempted before as it requires extremely precise orbital adjustments from the ISS, and extremely precise orbital insertion by the Soyuz-FG booster, which was only deemed possible following a study conducted last year, which showed that such accuracy was achievable with the existing Soyuz-FG booster and modernised Soyuz TMA-M series spacecraft.

Following liftoff at 8:43 PM GMT and successful orbital insertion shortly thereafter, Soyuz TMA-08M immediately performed its first two engine burns on its first orbit of the Earth, which were pre-programmed into the Soyuz’s on-board computer prior to launch.

On the second orbit, actual orbital parameters were uplinked from a Russian Ground Site (RGS), which allowed for a further eight rendezvous burns to be performed more precisely over the next five hours of flight.

During this time, the Soyuz crew were able to unstrap from their Kazbek couches and enter the Orbital Module (BO) to stretch their legs and use the bathroom facilities. However, due to the extremely tight schedule and high workload, they did not have time to take off their Sokol launch and entry suits, although they were able to take off their suit gloves and open their helmets.

Docking to the ISS at the Mini Research Module-2 (MRM-2) port was slightly ahead of schedule at 2:28 AM GMT on March 29, with hatch opening between Soyuz TMA-08M and the ISS occurring at 4:10 AM GMT, whereupon the new crewmembers were able to float inside their new home only 12 hours after they were walking around the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Cassidy will also be able to greet his old STS-127 crewmate, Tom Marshburn, who is already aboard the ISS.

Based on the results from the Soyuz TMA-08M fast-rendezvous, the decision is then expected to be made to change all future Soyuz rendezvous to be of the six hour type.

Expedition 35/36 look ahead:

Following docking, the crew of Expedition 35, commanded by Canada’s Chris Hadfield, was back up to full strength, ready for a high volume of science and research activities.

The next flight event to occur for the crew will be the April 15 undocking of Progress M-17M from the Zvezda Service Module (SM), followed on April 19 by Russian EVA-32 by cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Roman Romanenko.

Progress M-18M will then undock from Docking Compartment-1 (DC-1) “Pirs” on April 23, followed on April 24 by the launch of Progress M-19M, which will dock to DC-1 two days later on April 26.

Soyuz TMA-07M will then depart the ISS on May 14, whereupon Expedition 36 will begin with Vinogradov in command. Soyuz TMA-09M will launch for a same-day docking on May 28, boosting the ISS back up to six crewmembers.

Europe’s ATV-4 is then pencilled in to launch on June 14, for a docking to the ISS on June 26. In late June and early July, one Russian EVA and two US EVAs will be performed, with Chris Cassidy participating in the US spacewalks.

The month of August is also planned to see the launch and berthing of Japan’s HTV-4.

It is also possible that the first flight of Orbital’s Cygnus freighter to the ISS will occur during Expedition 35/36, although no SpaceX Dragons are scheduled to fly during this timeframe, with the next Dragon not scheduled to launch until November 28.

Soyuz TMA-08M will undock from the ISS and return to Earth on September 11, ending almost six months in space for Vinogradov, Misurkin and Cassidy.

(Images: via NASA, ESA and L2).

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TechDemoSat-1:

The agreement – between SSTL and Glavkosmos / NPO Lavotchkin for the launch of TDS-1 – will see the impressive spacecraft hitch a ride alongside numerous passengers set for launch on the Soyuz when it lift-off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan later this year.

The vehicle will be the Soyuz-2-1B rocket with Fregat-M upper stage, carrying its primary payload – the Russian meteorogical satellite Meteor-M2 – from launch pad 31/6.

The 150kg TechDemoSat-1 – part-funded through the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) – will enable UK industry and academia to qualify onboard payloads and UK satellite software, thereby overcoming the problem of a lack of in orbit flight heritage that often becomes a major barrier to commercial success in the space industry.

It is hoped that successful demonstration of the satellites payloads, in operational conditions, will provide the springboard for future technology contracts for UK industry and research partners.

Based on the SSTL-150 heritage satellite platform, developed for the Rapid Eye mission (built under contract to MacDonald Dettwiler Associates), the platform has been modified to carry its cargo of eight experimental payloads. TDS-1 will provide on orbit testing of the new SSTL subsystem designs.

The payloads include SSTL’s Sea State Payload (SSP) that will demonstrate how GPS signals reflected off the ocean’s surface can be used to determine ocean roughness and help maritime shipping plan more efficient routes.

MuREM, a miniature radiation environment and effects monitor, is being supplied by the Surrey Space Centre, while the Charged Particle Spectrometer (ChaPS) – a radiation detector that can perform simultaneous electron-ion detection – was developed by the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL).

Also riding onboard the spacecraft is the Langton Ultimate Cosmic ray Intensity Detector (LUCID), a detector that can characterise the energy, type, intensity and directionality of high energy particles. This was developed by the Langton Star Centre, part of a sixth form college, and is an element of a broader outreach activity supported by the industrial partners.

Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and Imperial College are supplying the The Highly Miniaturised Radiation Monitor (HMRM), while the laboratory are also involved with the Compact Modular Sounder (CMS) system, an infrared remote sensing radiometer unit, in collaboration with Oxford University’s Planetary Group.

SSBV’s CubeSAT ACS payload, will provide 3-axes attitude determination and control, while a de-orbit sail, designed by Cranfield University, will be the last payload to be operated on TDS-1, ending the spacecraft’s life by sending the spacecraft to a destructive re-entry in the Earth’s atmosphere at the end of its mission.

“TechDemoSat-1 is the first in-orbit satellite project directly funded by the Technology Strategy Board,” noted Tim Just, Head of Space at the Technology Strategy Board. “This hugely exciting and anticipated development will provide true space flight heritage to a number of new ideas and companies.

“Once in orbit TechDemoSat-1 will be able to test several new satellite based products and services from UK businesses, breaking one of the key barriers to innovation in the space sector by reducing risk in demonstrating new space-based solutions and technologies.”

According to SSTL – who continue to be a trailblazer for the UK’s growing influence in the space industry – an enhanced on board computer will provide greater ability to conduct software experiments remotely, while TDS-1 will sport a new battery charge regulator and newly qualified cell types on two of the solar panels.

The propulsion system will utilize a smaller tank size, trialled with a new high performance resistojet thruster along with new sun sensors in the Altitude and Orbital Control System (AOCS), adding increased accuracy to the previous sensors used.

(Images via SSTL)

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Progress M-18:

Ahead of Monday’s events, the Progress M-16M (48P) resupply ship – which arrived at the station last August – successfully departed the Pirs docking compartment on the Russian segment – on Saturday. The Progress spent three more orbits in space before burning up above the Pacific Ocean.

The departure cleared the Pirs docking port for the arrival of the new Progress M-18M (50P) resupply spacecraft. The Progress is loaded with almost three tons of food, fuel, supplies and experiment hardware for the six crew members aboard the orbital laboratory.

Instead of performing the usual two day rendezvous profile to make its way to the ISS, Progress M-18M is performing an accelerated six hour (four orbit) rendezvous profile – the same type of maneuver that was successfully demonstrated on the Progress M-16M/48P mission in August, 2012 – and once again with Progress M-17M/49P in October, 2012.

The change from the traditional two day rendezvous to a new six hour rendezvous was detailed in a Russian document describing the new rendezvous profile, which was seen by NASASpaceflight.com

The purpose of the maneuver is to shorten the time it takes between launches and dockings of Russian vehicles to the ISS, which usually stands at about 50 hours.

While the primary driver for this capability is to cut down on the amount of time that crews must spend inside the cramped Soyuz spacecraft between launch and docking, the maneuver is first being tested out with a few Progress vehicles in order to prove the concept, and demonstrate that it can be performed safely and successfully.

Progress vehicles can also benefit from the faster rendezvous however, as it allows time-critical biological payloads to reach the ISS very soon after launch, as other vehicles, such as Japan’s HTV and Europe’s ATV, can take up to a week to reach the ISS following launch.

With Monday’s fast rendezvous proving to be once again successful, it could be performed using a manned Soyuz spacecraft for the first time – maybe as soon as the Soyuz TMA-08M flight, which is currently scheduled to launch on March 28, 2013.

Docking of the Progress was confirmed at 8:35pm UTC – five minutes ahead of schedule.

The Progress’ booster, the Soyuz-U 11A511U (137), was launched from the PU-5 launch pad at the famous Cosmodrome.

The Soyuz-U was developed as a standardised launch system, to replace the Voskhod and Soyuz and provide commonality with the Molniya-M. It first flew in May 1973, and in 1976 the original Soyuz, Soyuz-M and Voskhod were all retired, with subsequent launches of their payloads being conducted by Soyuz-U rockets.

The Soyuz-U2 configuration, which was optimised to use synthetic propellant allowing it to carry more payload, was introduced in 1982, and used for around 90 launches before being retired in 1995.

With around 750 flights, the Soyuz-U is the most-flown orbital launch system ever developed. It remains in service, and in the last few years it has mostly been used to launch Progress missions to the International Space Station, as well as occasional military payloads. Recent launches have used the Soyuz-U PVB version, which features additional fireproofing.

(Images via L2 and Roscosmos).

(NSF and L2 are providing full high level space flight coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS/CRS/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles).

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Soyuz 2-1A Launch:

Globalstar is one of three major networks of commercial communications satellites in low Earth orbit, along with Iridium and Orbcomm. Like Iridium, and unlike Orbcomm, Globalstar is designed to transmit audio communications for satellite telephony.

Globalstar provides coverage of the Americas, Europe, parts of Russia and Asia, Australia and New Zealand. When completed, the second generation network of satellites will be made up of 32 operational satellites in circular orbits 1,414 kilometres in altitude, inclined at 52 degrees to the equator.

Launches of second-generation Globalstar satellites began in October 2010, and Wednesday’s launch was the fourth and final group of six satellites to be placed into orbit.

The second-generation Globalstar constellation is intended to replace the existing first-generation constellation, which began deployment in 1998.

Launches were conducted in groups of four, on Delta II and Soyuz rockets, with a single launch of twelve satellites on a Zenit-2, however the Zenit launch failed. The first-generation satellites were built by Space Systems/Loral, based around the LS-400 bus, with a communications payload built by Alenia Spazio. The constellation consisted of forty eight operational satellites, and four spares.

Including the twelve satellites which failed to achieve orbit, this resulted in sixty four being launched between 1998 and 2000, by means of seven Delta II 7420, and six Soyuz-U/Ikar rockets. The satellites had a design life of seven and a half years, and in 2007 eight replacement satellites were launched using Soyuz-FG/Fregat rockets.

The third Globalstar launch, conducted on 9 February 1999, marked the first commercial launch of the Soyuz rocket, and the first launch to be conducted by Starsem; the company conducting Wednesday’s launch.

That Soyuz flew in the Soyuz-U/Ikar configuration, using an older version of the Soyuz rocket, and an upper stage derived from the Yantar reconnaissance satellite. The Ikar upper stage was short-lived; it was only used for the six Globalstar launches before being retired in favour of the Fregat.

The new Globalstar satellites were constructed by Thales Alenia Space, under a contract signed in 2006, and are each equipped with sixteen transponders operating in the C and S bands of the IEEE spectrum (E-H bands of the NATO spectrum).

Each spacecraft generates power by means of two solar arrays, which can produce 2.4 kilowatts of power. Three-axis control is used to ensure that the satellites retain the correct attitude for relaying communications and orienting their solar arrays towards the sun. The satellites are expected to operate for fifteen years.

The launch was delayed by one day due to unacceptable high altitude winds ahead of the initial launch attempt on Tuesday.

Soyuz-2 is a modernised variant of the Soyuz rocket, itself a derivative of the R-7 Semyorka, the world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile. The R-7 made its first flight in 1957, and a modified version was used to launch Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, later that year. In addition to Soyuz, the R-7 has served as the basis of the Vostok, Molniya and Voskhod rockets as well as several other variants which made small numbers of flights.

Vostok rockets launched early Soviet manned spaceflights, reconnaissance satellites, and a modified version launched the first Soviet lunar probes. Molniya was used to launch missions beyond Earth orbit, as well as military, communications and scientific satellites into high Earth orbits. The Voskhod rocket, which first flew in November 1964, was the predecessor to the Soyuz. It incorporated the Blok I third stage developed for the Molniya rocket, powered by an RD-0108 engine. Voskhod was used to launch reconnaissance satellites, and missions of the manned Voskhod programme.

The Soyuz, meaning “Union”, first flew on 28 October 1966. Derived from the Voskhod, it incorporated upgraded engines, including an RD-0110 on the third stage, as well as a lower-mass and improved telemetry system. The original Soyuz was used exclusively for launches of Soyuz spacecraft, both manned and unmanned. Not including one which exploded on its launch pad after its launch had been delayed, thirty one were launched, the last of which flew in 1975 carrying the Soyuz 23 spacecraft.

Between 1970 and 1971, three Soyuz-L rockets were launched, incorporating reinforcements to the core stages and a larger payload fairing to accommodate prototypes of the LK spacecraft, the spacecraft the Soviet Union intended to use to land men on the Moon. Another Soyuz variant, the Soyuz-M, was developed to launch the Soyuz 7K-VI; the military version of the Soyuz spacecraft, which was heavier than the civilian version.

After the cancellation of the military Soyuz programme, eight Soyuz-M rockets were used to launch Zenit-4MT reconnaissance satellites, with launches occurring between 1971 and 1976.

The Soyuz-U was developed as a standardised launch system, to replace the Voskhod and Soyuz and provide commonality with the Molniya-M. It first flew in May 1973, and in 1976 the original Soyuz, Soyuz-M and Voskhod were all retired, with subsequent launches of their payloads being conducted by Soyuz-U rockets. The Soyuz-U2 configuration, which was optimised to use synthetic propellant allowing it to carry more payload, was introduced in 1982, and used for around 90 launches before being retired in 1995.

With around 750 flights, the Soyuz-U is the most-flown orbital launch system ever developed. It remains in service, and in the last few years it has mostly been used to launch Progress missions to the International Space Station, as well as occasional military payloads. Recent launches have used the Soyuz-U PVB version, which features additional fireproofing.

In 2001, the Soyuz-FG, which featured a new fuel injection system, was introduced, providing an increased payload capacity. After three test flights carrying Progress spacecraft, the Soyuz-FG began launching manned Soyuz-TMA spacecraft to the ISS, a role which it continues to perform.

The Soyuz-2 features modernised engines and digital flight controls. There are three different configurations; the Soyuz-2-1a, 2-1b and 2-1v, with the 2-1a and b using different third stage engines.

The Soyuz-2-1v is a two-stage vehicle, without the first stage used in the other configurations, and with an NK-33 engine replacing the RD-108 used on the second stage of the other configurations.

The Soyuz-ST is a derivative of the Soyuz-2 optimised for launching from the Centre Spatial Guyanais, and equipped with a self-destruct system to meet range safety requirements there. The Soyuz-ST made its first launch in October, and can fly in two configurations; the Soyuz-STA and STB, based on the Soyuz-2-1a and 2-1b respectively.

The Soyuz-2 made its maiden flight in 2004, in the Soyuz-2-1a configuration. It carried an obsolete Zenit-8 reconnaissance satellite, refitted with test instrumentation, on a suborbital trajectory. It is not entirely clear whether the mission was intended to be suborbital, or whether the rocket actually failed to achieve orbit. The first launch into orbit occurred in October 2006, when a Soyuz-2-1a/Fregat deployed the MetOp-A weather satellite.

The Soyuz-2-1b made its maiden flight later the same year, carrying the COROT exoplanet detection satellite.

Under Russian stage numbering, the booster rockets which augment the core stage’s thrust during the first 118 seconds of flight are considered to be its first stage, even though the core, or second stage, ignites at the same time. The first stage consists of four strap-ons, designated Blok-B, V, G and D, which are powered each powered by an RD-107A engine.

Click here for Soyuz News Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/soyuz/

The first stages are attached around the second stage, or Blok-A, which is powered by a single RD-108A. All of the first three stages of the Soyuz burn RP-1 propellant, using liquid oxygen as an oxidiser.

The Fregat upper stage, which is propelled by unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide fuelling an S5.98M engine, will be used to place the Globalstar satellites into their target orbit. The Fregat has been used as a fourth stage on Soyuz-U, Soyuz-FG and Soyuz-2 rockets, and also as the third stage of the Zenit-3F. The version being used on Wednesday is the Fregat-M.

Fregat made its first flight in first flew in 2000, on a Soyuz-U rocket carrying the IRDT inflatable heat shield experiment. The Fregat was also equipped with a prototype heat shield, and was intended to be recovered if possible; however it could not be found after reentry. The heat shield was a one-off on the test flight; Fregats are generally allowed to burn up in the atmosphere.

This launch was  the 26th performed by Starsem since beginning operations at Baikonur Cosmodrome in 1999 on a historic introductory commercial Soyuz flight also at the service of Globalstar – carrying four of its first-generation constellation satellites.

(Images via Starsem, Arianespace, and L2).

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