News

RSC Energia held a session of the Council of Chief Designers for the Russian Segment of the ISS

March 3, 2015

RSC Energia has held a session of the Council of Chief Designers for the Russian Segment of the International Space Station.

The Council of Chief Designers has reviewed the launch readiness of the manned transportation spacecraft Soyuz TMA-16M and launch vehicle Soyuz-FG, the readiness of Soyuz TMA-14M for completion of its flight, the readiness of the ISS, launch and range facilities, equipment and personnel of LOCT and MCC, search and rescue vehicles, crew medical support, the crews of Expeditions ISS-43/44 for the upcoming work.

Taking part in the proceedings were representatives of Roscosmos, United Rocket and Space Corporation (URSC), space agencies from abroad, companies in the rocket and space industry and some other organizations participating in the ISS program.

General Designer of RSC Energia for manned space systems Sergei Romanov reported on the progress of preparations for launch of the manned transportation spacecraft Soyuz TMA-16M, and on the readiness of Soyuz TMA-14M for completion of its mission; He reported that during the period of November 1, 2014 through March 3, 2015 the following work has been done:

Undocking from the ISS and landing of Soyuz TMA-13M manned transportation spacecraft with the crew of ISS-40/41;
Completion of the mission of Progress M-24M, launch and docking with the ISS of Soyuz TMA-15M with the crew of ISS-42/43;
Launch, docking with the ISS, undocking, completion of the mission of the US spacecraft Dragon (SpX-5);
Undocking from the ISS, completion of the mission of the European cargo spacecraft ATV-5;
Launch and docking of Progress M-26M logistics spacecraft with the ISS.

"Soyuz TMA-16M was assembled in June 2014, passed the full scope of factory check tests and in September was shipped off to Baikonur, where it also passed a full scope of tests per General Designer's documentation. The spacecraft is currently at the stage of final operations", - said S.Romanov.

In his words, the launch of Soyuz TMA-16M is notable in that the spacecraft will deliver into orbit the participants of a one-year mission - Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and US astronaut Scott Kelly, and in September of this year it is going to bring back to Earth the participants of a visiting mission (S. Brightman, A. Mogensen).

RSC Energia First Deputy General Designer Vladimir Soloviev presented the ISS Russian Segment (RS) mission plan for the forthcoming period, reported on the results and further plans for conducting science experiments onboard the ISS, reported on the readiness of the ISS Russian Segment for carrying out the program of the next expedition.

"There are sufficient resources to carry out the ISS-43 program. The control loop is fully functional. Specialists have completed their theoretical training, the onboard and ground operational documentation has been prepared. The hardware and personnel are ready for continuing the expedition", - stated V. Soloviev.

In their turn, chief designers, responsible representatives of RSC Energia and organizations involved in the ISS program, also made their reports on the readiness of all the systems of the spacecraft and the station.

Based on the results of the meeting, the Council of Chief Designers made the following decision:

Taking into account the assessment of the actual status of readiness of Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft for completion of work, approve the proposal made by RSC Energia to return the crew of Expedition ISS-41/42 onboard Soyuz TMA-14M on March 12, 2015;
Taking into account the assessment of its actual status, allow the ISS Russian Segment (RS) to proceed with the next phase of the ISS operation;
Instruct RSC Energia to submit this decision to the State Commission and the Federal Space Agency.

The launch of the manned transportation spacecraft Soyuz TMA-16M to the ISS is scheduled for March 27, 2015 on Soyuz-FG launch vehicle from the launch pad 1 of the Baikonur launch site. The spacecraft will deliver to the station the next expedition crew and scientific equipment. The main crew consists of Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, Mikhail Korniyenko and a NASA astronaut Scott Kelly.

The landing of Soyuz TMA-14M with Russian cosmonauts Aleksandr Samokutyayev, Yelena Serova, and a NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore is scheduled for March 12, 2015.

RSC Energia: the leader in the rocket and space industry, and the prime contractor for manned space systems. The Corporation conducts work on the development of unmanned space and rocket systems (launch vehicles and orbital transfer vehicles), and high-technology systems for various non-space applications. Since August 2014, the Corporation is headed by Vladimir Lvovich Solntsev.