Progress MS-20

LAUNCH TIME	June 03, 2022 - 11:32:54
FORNITORE DEL LANCIO	ROSCOSMOS
CLIENTE	ROSCOSMOS
RAZZO	Soyuz 2.1a
SITO DI LANCIO	31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
MASSA PAYLOAD	2.550 kg
DESTINAZIONE	ISS
METEO	-

Roscosmos will launch the Progress MS-20 cargo refueling mission to the International Space Station with a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

This will be the 81st (81 P) cargo mission to the ISS for Roscosmos.

The Progress cargo ship

A photo of the docking system of the Progress spacecraft - Credit: NASA

What will it carry? The vehicle will carry 603 kg of pressurized propellant, 420 liters of water, food, experiments and other equipment with a total mass of 2,550 kg.

The ship The Progress is a "cargo" spacecraft used for refueling and delivering goods for the ISS. Its design is derived from the Soyuz (used for launching human beings). The Progress is 7.9 meters long and 2.7 meters in diameter. It consists of three parts: a pressurized load module, a propellant compartment and a rear service module.

Unlike Cargo Dragon 2, it is not designed to return cargo to Earth. This is because the three modules on Progress are unable to split before re-entry. Therefore, after unloading the cargo, the crew progressively fills it only with garbage. At the end of its mission, the spacecraft separates from the ISS, performs a deorbit burn and burns completely upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere.

The MS series is the latest modernized variation of the Progress spacecraft which began flying in December 2015. Among the updates introduced are improved orbital debris shielding, new flight control and navigation systems.

The docking system Like the Soyuz, Progress MS is equipped with a Kurs-NA automatic docking system. In addition, the Progress MS spacecraft can be manually docked to the ISS via the docking system called Tele-Robotically Operated Rendezvous Unit (TORU) which acts as a backup for Kurs-NA in emergency situations and is located inside the Zvezda service.

The Soyuz 2.1a Rocket

The Soyuz rocket has been the main vehicle of the Soviet / Russian space program since 1966. The Soyuz version currently used for most satellite launches is a four-stage vehicle, consisting of:

• 4 side boosters (first stage);

• 1 central stage (second stage);

• 1 upper stage (third stage);

Korolev's cross seen from the cameras aboard the rocket - Credit: Roscosmos

The Side Boosters Each side booster has a single RD-107A engine, which runs on liquid oxygen and RP-1. Each engine has four combustion chambers and four nozzles.

When separating the boosters follow a well-known pattern: these detach and rotate outward. This pattern is known as the "Korolev cross".

The middle stage The middle stage is equipped with an RD-108A engine which, like the RD-107A engine, has four combustion chambers and four nozzles and is powered by LOX and RP-1. The engine contains four attitude thrusters, used for three-axis flight control once the side boosters have separated.

The third stage The third stage uses an RD-0110 engine, a special thing about this engine is the fact that it fires before the stage is separated.

The NASA live stream in English will begin at 11:15 am.