Progress MS-02

Progress MS-02

Mission type	ISS resupply
Operator	Roscosmos
COSPAR ID	2016-022A
SATCAT no.	41436
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Progress-MS No.432[1]
Manufacturer	RKK Energia
Start of mission
Launch date	31 March 2016, 16:23:57 UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-2.1a [2]
Launch site	Baikonur 31/6
Docking with ISS
Docking port	Zvezda aft
Docking date	2 April 2016 17:58
Undocking date	14 October 2016
Progress ISS Resupply

Progress MS-02 (Russian: Прогресс МC-02), identified by NASA as Progress 63 or 63P, is a Progress spacecraft used by Roscosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) during 2016. It was launched on March 31, 2016, to deliver cargo to the ISS.

Launch

Progress MS-2 was launched on 31 March 2016 at 16:23 UTC from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Docking

Progress MS-2 docked successfully with the aft docking port of the Zvezda module on 2 April 2016 at 17:58 UTC.

Cargo

The Progress MS-2 spacecraft carried 2425 kg of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station. The spacecraft delivered food, fuel and supplies, including 540 kg of propellant, 47 kg of oxygen and air, 420 kg of water, and 1418 kg of spare parts, supplies and experiment hardware for the six members of the Expedition 47 crew.^[3]

Also was delivered amateur satellite Tomsk-TPU 120 built by the Tomsk Polytechnic University. The satellite is based on the 3U CubeSat standard and was constructed with using 3D printing technology. The satellite's size is 30 by 10 cm, weight is 5 kg.^[4] Release of Tomsk-TPU 120 will be made by hand during a spacewalk on August 17, 2017.^[5] The satellite will broadcast congratulations on the 120th anniversary of the Tomsk Polytechnic University, recorded by students on 11 languages and will be operate on 437,025 MHz downlink.

Technology

The Progress MS spacecraft has upgraded communications and electronics from previous Progress vehicles. After launch, ground controllers were able to communicate the Progress MS via a Russian Luch data relay satellite in geosynchronous orbit. This was described as the first time a Progress or Soyuz spacecraft had such capability.^[6]

Other upgrades include:

• Upgraded Kurs-A rendezvous system designated Kurs-NA, including new antennas
• Upgraded flight control system that can take advantage of the GLONASS navigation satellites for the first time, for autonomous trajectory measurements
• New digital television system, which replaced an older analog TV, allowing transmission between the transport ship and the space station via onboard radio channels.
• New digital backup control unit
• Enhanced meteoroid shielding
• New LED-based lighting system
• Upgraded angular velocity sensors
• Docking port equipped with a backup electric driving mechanism

References