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May 7, 2009. Baikonur launch site, branch office of S.P.Korolev RSC Energia
At 22:37:09 Moscow Time a space logistics spacecraft Progress M-02M was launched from the Baikonur launch site.
The objective of the launch is to provide support needed for continuing the flight of the International Space Station (ISS) in accordance with the Russian commitments under the ISS project, as well as to continue developmental testing of the logistic spacecraft of the new series.
The spacecraft mission is to deliver to the Space Station about 2.5 tons of various cargoes that are needed to continue the operation of the space station in manned mode and provide living and working conditions for the crew.
The spacecraft was put into a parking low-Earth orbit with the following parameters: 51.64° inclination , 193.4 km minimal altitude , 251.5 km maximum altitude, 88.65 minutes orbital period.
The onboard systems of the spacecraft operate normally.
At the launch site, the spacecraft prelaunch processing and launch were performed under the direction of the State Commission (chaired by the head of Roscosmos A.N.Perminov). The Commission was basing its decisions to proceed with each next step in processing and launching on the opinions of the Technical Management headed by the President of RSC Energia, Designer General V.A.Lopota.
According to the telemetry data and reports from the crew of ISS Expedition 19, the space station systems operate in normal mode. The station is ready for docking with the spacecraft.
The spacecraft docking is scheduled for May 12, 2009, at 23:22 Moscow Time. During five days of free flight, dynamic operations and tests will be performed in order to raise the spacecraft orbit, to rendezvous with the space station and acquire data about system operation.
For reference:
- S.P.Korolev RSC Energia is a Russian company of strategic importance, the prime organization in the Russian rocket and space industry that carries out manned space flight, responsible for the development of the ISS Russian Segment, its integration into the Space Station and its operation, including development and operation of principal Russian modules (Zvezda, Pirs, etc.), manufacturing, launch and operation of Soyuz TMA and Progress M spacecraft.
- Sent from the ground to the orbit were supplies of air, water and food, propellants, spacesuit for extravehicular activities, consumables, scientific instrumentation and equipment.
- Currently working onboard ISS is the crew of Expedition 19 consisting of: Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka (spacecraft commander, commander of ISS-19), NASA astronaut Michael Barratt (flight engineer of the spacecraft, flight engineer 1 of ISS-19) and astronaut of the Japanese Space Agency Koichi Wakata (flight engineer 2 of ISS-19).
- Progress M-02M is the 33th Russian logistics spacecraft launched to ISS within the framework of this project, and the second spacecraft in the new series of logistics spacecraft Progress M. The spacecraft of these series are equipped with upgraded onboard systems, which improved performance.
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