MOSCOW -- All systems remain go for the scheduled launch this week of the Progress supply ship that is to help sink the Russian space station Mir into the Pacific Ocean on March 6.
Liftoff of the Soyuz rocket that will carry Progress M1-5 into Earth orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is set for 1:56:26 a.m. EST (06:56:26 GMT) Thursday.
Unlike similar spacecraft used before to bring supplies -- such as food and clothing -- to Mir for its continuing operation, Progress M1-5 is taxiing an increased amount of fuel, which will be burned while Progress is docked with Mir to force the station out of orbit.
Another difference from previous Progress missions is that this spacecraft is to dock with Mir four days after launch instead of two days, which is the more normal flight plan.
The reason: Progress won't have to use up as much fuel chasing Mir in four days as it would flying the two-day plan.
If all goes well with the launch, Progress is to dock with Mir at 2:58 a.m. EST (07:58 GMT) next Monday.
According to mission controllers in Moscow, when Progress docks with Mir the station will be circling Earth once every 90.4 minutes at an altitude of 184 by 194 statute miles (297 by 313 kilometers).
For the more technically inclined, the table below details the engine firings the Progress is scheduled to make so that it can catch up to Mir and dock.Engine start times are Eastern Standard Time and the duration is in seconds. Velocity change is expressed in feet per second (fps) and meters per second (mps). Resulting orbit after a burn, or series of two burns, shows statute miles (m) and kilometers (km), while the orbital period is expressed in minutes.
| Progress Mission Timeline |
Date
01-18
01-18
01-19
01-20
01-21
01-21
| Time
5:46:35 a.m.
9:30.14 a.m.
2:47.15 p.m.
1:05:56 a.m.
12:54.01 a.m.
1:49:57 a.m.
| Duration
146 sec.
127 sec.
6.1 sec.
28 sec.
48 sec.
196 sec.
| Velocity Change
34 fps (10.3 mps)
29.5 fps (9.0 mps)
6.6 fps (2.0 mps)
6.6 fps (2.0 mps)
11 fps (3.4 mps)
45.6 fps (13.9 mps)
| Resulting Orbit
140 x 170 m (226 x 274 km)
142 x 170 m (229 x 273 km)
143 x 170 m (231 x 273 km)
158 x 185 m (255 x 298 km)
| Orbit Period
89.2 min.
89.2 min.
89.3 min.
89.9 min.
|
|
Save the station
Meanwhile, although the Progress is about begin its journey into space to seal Mir's fate, some Russian scientists still are looking for ways to rescue the 15-year-old station at the last minute.
According to Georgy Shutov, president of the interregional public organization "Independent Scientists," one of the potential rescue measures would be to install electric rocket engines on Mir.
Such engines have already been invented by Russian scientists, tested and patented, according to Shutov. They would be powered by the energy generated by solar panels manufactured of a super lightweight sub-nuclear film.
Shutov believes that such an engine could be manufactured for use at Mir in no more than six months and at a total cost of no more than 3 million rubles, or a little over $105,000.
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