Contents

Progress MS-03

Progress MS-03

Progress MS-03 undocking from the Pirs on 31 January 2017
Names	Progress 64P
Mission type	ISS resupply
Operator	Roscosmos
COSPAR ID	2016-045A
SATCAT no.	41670
Mission duration	199 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Progress MS-03 s/n 433
Spacecraft type	Progress-MS
Manufacturer	RKK Energia
Launch mass	7281 kg
Payload mass	2425 kg
Start of mission
Launch date	16 July 2016, 21:41:45 UTC[1]
Rocket	Soyuz-U s/n G15000-147
Launch site	Baikonur, Site 31/6
Contractor	Progress Rocket Space Centre
End of mission
Disposal	Deorbited
Decay date	31 January 2017
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Inclination	51.65°
Docking with ISS
Docking port	Pirs
Docking date	19 July 2016, 00:20 UTC
Undocking date	31 January 2017, 14:25 UTC
Time docked	196 days
Cargo
Mass	2425 kg
Pressurised	1230 kg
Fuel	705 kg
Gaseous	50 kg
Water	420 kg
Progress ISS Resupply ← Progress MS-02 Progress MS-04 →

Progress MS-03 (Russian: Прогресс МC-03), identified by NASAasProgress 64P, was a Progress spaceflight operated by Roscosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS).^[2] It was the first Progress MS to have an external compartment for releasing satellites.^[3]

History[edit]

Progress was the first cargo spacecraft to fly in space (1978), and also the first to bring freight back to Earth, thanks to a Raduga capsule. It was developed to supply the Salyut 6 space station and which was subsequently supply the crews of Salyut 7, Mir and from the International Space Station. It enabled space station crews to stay in space by bringing consumables (food, water, fuel, oxygen) and spare parts.^[4]

The Progress-MS is a uncrewed freighter based on the Progress-M featuring improved avionics. This improved variant first launched on 21 December 2015. It has the following improvements:^[5][6][7]

• New external compartment that enables it to deploy satellites. Each compartment can hold up to four launch containers. This Progress MS-03 flight features first usage.
• Enhanced redundancy thanks to the addition of a backup system of electrical motors for the docking and sealing mechanism.
• Improved Micrometeoroid (MMOD) protection with additional panels in the cargo compartment.
• Luch Russian relay 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.
• The Ukrainian Chezara Kvant-V on board radio system and antenna/feeder system has been replaced with a Unified Command Telemetry System (UCTS).
• Replacement of the Kurs A with Kurs NA digital system.

Pre-launch[edit]

The launch of Progress MS-03 was originally scheduled for on 30 April 2016, but was postponed as a result of an overall reshuffle of the flight manifest for the International Space Station. At the beginning of June 2016, the mission was rescheduled from 4 July to 17 July 2016.

Launch[edit]

Progress MS-03 was launched on 16 July 2016 at 21:41:45 (UTC) on a Soyuz-U from the Baikonur Site 31/6inKazakhstan. At the time of launch, the International Space Station was flying at 420 km over Eastern Chad.^[2]

Docking[edit]

The Progress MS-03 mission used the two-day, 34-orbit trip to the station instead of the currently available six-hour rendezvous profile. Progress MS-03 docked with the nadir docking port of the Pirs module on 19 July 2016 at 00:20 UTC.^[1][8]

Cargo[edit]

The Progress MS-03 spacecraft delivered 2,425 kg of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station for the six members of the Expedition 48 crew.^[9] The following is a breakdown of cargo bound for the ISS:^[6]

• Fuel: 705 kg
• Oxygen and Air: 50 kg
• Water: 420 kg
• Supplies for NASA: 22 kg
• Spare parts: 1,230 kg

Undocking and decay[edit]

The Progress MS-03 cargo ship undocked from the Pirs, on 31 January 2017, at 14:25 UTC, Roskosmos announced. The three-minute braking maneuver was scheduled to begin at 17:34 UTC, followed by reentry into the dense atmosphere at 18:10 UTC. Surviving debris of the spacecraft were calculated to impact the Pacific Ocean at 18:24 UTC on the same day.^[1]

References[edit]

^ ^{a b} "Progress MS-03 2016-045A". NSSDCA. NASA. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.