posted 08-20-2019 06:55 PM               

Soyuz MS-14 poised to launch without a crew

An uncrewed Russian Soyuz spacecraft is set to launch on a test flight to validate the spacecraft’s compatibility with a new variant of the Soyuz rocket. The booster will be used to transport crews to the orbiting laboratory beginning in spring 2020.

The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft will lift off on a Soyuz 2.1a booster, which recently has been used to launch uncrewed Russian Progress cargo resupply missions to the space station. The launch is scheduled for Wednesday (Aug. 21) at 11:38 p.m. EDT (0338 GMT or 8:38 a.m. local time on Aug. 22).

Two days later, on Saturday (Aug. 24) at 1:30 a.m. EDT (0530 GMT), the Soyuz will navigate to an automated docking on the station's space-facing Poisk module.

The Soyuz 2.1a booster, equipped with a new digital flight control system and upgraded engines, is replacing the Soyuz FG booster that has been used for decades to launch crews into space. The Soyuz spacecraft will have an upgraded motion control and navigation system, as well as a revamped descent control system.

Instead of crew members, the Soyuz will carry 1,450 pounds of cargo to the Expedition 60 crew currently residing on the orbital outpost. Among the payload is Skybot F-850, an anthropomorphic rescue robot developed by the Android Technology Company and the Russian Foundation for Advanced Research Projects.

After a two-week stay at the station, the Soyuz will be commanded to undock from the station on Friday, Sept. 6, at 2:13 p.m. EDT (1813 GMT).

The uncrewed Soyuz MS-14 will be deorbited for a parachute-assisted landing in south-central Kazakhstan at 5:35 p.m. EDT on Sept. 6 (2135 GMT or 3:35 a.m. local time on Sept. 7), where Russian personnel will be standing by to recover the spacecraft for postflight analysis.

posted 08-22-2019 12:05 AM               

Soyuz MS-14 launches to space station

Russia's Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft launched Wednesday (Aug. 21) at 11:38 p.m. EDT (0338 GMT or 8:38 a.m. Aug. 22 local time) from Site 31 at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

posted 08-24-2019 12:46 AM               

Soyuz MS-14 docking to space station aborted

The approach of the uncrewed Soyuz MS-14 to the International Space Station was aborted at 1:36 a.m. EDT (0536 GMT) on Saturday (Aug. 24), after the spacecraft encountered an unspecified problem with its KURS automated rendezvous system at a distance of about 200 feet (60 meters) from the orbital laboratory.

The Soyuz was unable to properly lock onto its docking target on the Poisk module, causing it to slew back and forth until cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Aleksandr Skvortsov sent the command for the vehicle to abort the docking and back away to a safe distance from the space station.

Soyuz MS-14 was not outfitted with a backup TORU manual docking system.

Another docking approach will not be attempted before Sunday night into Monday morning, providing time for Russian flight controllers to assess the situation and for Ovchinin and Skvortsov to swap out a suspect signal amplifier on the space station and test its replacement.

posted 08-24-2019 11:22 AM               

The Soyuz MS-14 is the first piloted spacecraft, which was launched using the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket. In order to certify the system and ensure the safety of cosmonauts the launch on August, 22 was unpiloted and was successful without any issues.

This provides an opportunity to use this space complex for the crewed missions. However, during the docking of the ship a fault occurred in the ISS equipment responsible for the safe approach and airlocking. Therefore the Mission Control Center decided to withdraw the ship to a safe distance to ensure the safety of the crew.

The RSC Energia specialists offered the State Commission the following Soyuz MS-14 redocking variant:

• On August 26, Alexander Skvortsov crew will manually redock the Soyuz MS-13 piloted ship from the Zvezda module to the Small Research Module-2, where the Soyuz MS-14 was meant to dock.

• On August 27, the second automatic docking attempt will take place, with the Soyuz MS-14 docking to the Zvezda module.

Presently the Soyuz MS-14 is in normal spin in the Sun awaiting the redocking. Tomorrow Alexander Skvortsov will take an additional training according to the normal procedure using the onboard simulator to redock the Soyuz MS-13.

The situation is complicated, however is under control.

posted 08-25-2019 09:52 AM               

Second Docking Attempt for Soyuz MS-14 Planned

International Space Station managers and the international partners met on Saturday (Aug. 24) and approved a plan to allow a second rendezvous and docking attempt for the unpiloted Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft to occur on Monday night. The Soyuz's initial docking attempt early Saturday was aborted after what Russian officials said was a suspected problem with a component associated with the Kurs automated rendezvous system for the Poisk module docking port.

The Soyuz was commanded to back away from the station after approaching to within 330 feet (100 meters) of Poisk when the vehicle could not achieve a solid telemetry lock to that docking port through the automated rendezvous system. The unpiloted Soyuz is currently orbiting a safe distance from the space station with all of its systems functioning normally. The six crewmembers on board the station were never in any danger during the initial rendezvous attempt.

Plans now call for the unpiloted Soyuz to execute a second docking attempt Monday night (Aug. 26) at 11:12 p.m. EDT (0312 GMT Aug. 27), but this time to the aft port of the Zvezda service module. The Kurs system on Zvezda has been checked out and is in perfect working order.

To accommodate the new plan, Expedition 60 crew members Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos, Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Drew Morgan of NASA will don their Russian Sokol launch and entry suits Sunday night, climb aboard their Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft which docked to Zvezda on July 20 and undock for a 25-minute Soyuz relocation maneuver and a manual docking by Soyuz commander Skvortsov to the Poisk module. The suspect Kurs rendezvous unit component for Poisk is not a factor for the relocation maneuver by Skvortsov and his Soyuz crewmates.

Undocking of the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft from Zvezda is scheduled at 11:34 p.m. EDT (0334 GMT) with redocking to Poisk scheduled at 11:59 p.m. EDT (0359 GMT).

It will be the first Soyuz relocation since August 2015 when Gennady Padalka and Mikhail Kornienko of Roscosmos and NASA's Scott Kelly conducted a similar operation, but in reverse, flying their Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft from Poisk to Zvezda.

posted 08-26-2019 10:09 PM               

Soyuz MS-14 docks to space station on second try

Russia's uncrewed Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft successfully docked to the International Space Station on Monday (Aug. 26), after having to abort an earlier, first attempt.

The autonomous docking to the Zvezda service module was achieved at 11:08 p.m. EDT (0308 GMT Aug. 27).

The spacecraft's first try at docking to the space station's Poisk mini research module was called off on Saturday because of a problem with the station's side of the KURS automated rendezvous system.

To enable the second attempt, three Expedition 60 crew members boarded their Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft on Sunday night and relocated it from Zvezda to Poisk, opening the docking port on Zvezda for use.

posted 09-06-2019 02:34 PM               

Soyuz MS-14 departs space station

Russia's uncrewed Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft undocked and departed from the International Space Station on Friday (Sept. 6) at 2:14 p.m. EDT (1814 GMT).

The vehicle is scheduled to land with the Skybot F-850 robot at 5:34 p.m. EDT (2134 GMT) on the steppe of Kazakhstan.

posted 09-06-2019 05:06 PM               

The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft descent module carrying Skybot F-850 humanoid robot successfully landed.

All the reentry and landing operations went as expected!