​On Thursday morning at 06:15 UTC, the Progress MS-22 cargo ship was launched into low Earth orbit from launch pad 31/6 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome using a Soyuz-2.1a rocket. It may seem like a routine resupply mission to the International Space Station, but the launch of Progress MS-22 sets in motion a series of events that will lead to the resolution of the current crisis aboard the orbital outpost.

The launch was successful, and the spacecraft is now in Earth orbit, preparing to dock with the space station on Saturday morning. On Tuesday, the Progress MS-20 spacecraft, having corrected the orbit of the International Space Station with the help of on-board engines, separated from the Russian Zvezda module, freeing the docking port for the Progress MS-22 (Progress MS-21 is docked to Search module from the end of October).

Just a few hours after undocking from the ISS, Progress MS-20 made a devastating re-entry into the atmosphere somewhere over the Pacific Ocean (although the Progress spacecraft, unlike the Soyuz capsules, is not designed to survive re-entry, nor can they transport crew to or from orbit; their destruction during re-entry is also an effective method for the crew aboard the space station to dispose of on-board debris).

For the International Space Station to effectively change its orbit if its trajectory intersects with orbital debris, a Progress craft must always be attached to the station (although there are station boosters that can do this if needed).

Thus, Progress MS-21 will remain attached to Poisk until Progress MS-22 docks with the Zvezda module, which will take place on Saturday morning at 08:47 (the event will be broadcast live on NASA TV). After this docking, Progress MS-21 will leave the Search module to make way for the Soyuz MS-23 capsule, which will take off without a crew on board at the end of February and dock with the ISS, where it will be used. to replace the failed Soyuz MS-22 capsule (docked in Rassvet).

Only after Soyuz MS-23 is safely docked will Soyuz MS-22 detach from the ISS and land without a crew on board, allowing Russian engineers to check the condition of the capsule, which lost all of its coolant on December 15, 2022, probably from an impact. with a micrometer. This was the 83rd launch of the Russian Progress spacecraft to the International Space Station, which is why NASA uses the name Progress-83P for this mission.

On board the ship is 1.3 tons of supplies and personal belongings, more than 700 kilograms of fuel for the engines of the Zvezda space station, 420 liters of water for the crew and 40 kilograms of oxygen. After the crew unloads the supplies, the Progress will be filled with waste, which will expire in a few months, also over the Pacific Ocean, just like the other Progress ships so far.

Along with the cargo option, the Dragon and Cygnus Progress capsules are one option that NASA and other partner space agencies can use to send supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. JAXA (Japan Space Agency) used the H-II Vehicle (HTV) for the same purpose until 2020, but retired after 9 successful missions, but will start using the new HTV-X cargo vehicle from next year.

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Photo source: profimediaimages.ro