Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
    • Fluid power
  • Learn
    • Ebooks / Tech Tips
    • Engineering Week
    • Future of Design Engineering
    • MC² Motion Control Classrooms
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • LEAP AWARDS
  • Leadership
    • 2022 Voting
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guide Library
  • Resources
    • Subscribe!
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Women in Engineering
  • Supplier Listings

Russia’s Spinning Cargo Capsule for Space Station Total Loss

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer | April 30, 2015

Share

A Russian supply capsule that went into an uncontrollable spin after launch was declared a total loss Wednesday, but astronauts at the International Space Station said they will get by without the delivery of fresh food, water, clothes and equipment.

(NASA via AP)

“We should be OK,” NASA astronaut Scott Kelly assured The Associated Press. “I think we’re going to be in good shape.”

Kelly and Russian Mikhail Kornienko, the space station’s one-year crew members, told the AP during an interview that flight controllers had given up trying to command the cargo carrier. NASA and the Russian Space Agency later confirmed the news.

(NASA via AP)

The unmanned Progress vessel, bearing 3 tons of goods, began tumbling when it reached orbit Tuesday, following launch from Kazakhstan. The head of Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, Igor Komarov, cited a lack of pressure in the main block of the propulsion system in the decision to abort the mission.

Kelly said the craft will fall out of orbit and re-enter the atmosphere. Russian reports indicated a re-entry possibly next week.

The capsule is expected to burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere, as is the case for all Progress carriers, once they have delivered their shipments and are filled with trash.

“The program plans for these kinds of things to happen. They’re very unfortunate when they do,” said Kelly, one month into a yearlong mission, which will be a record for NASA.

He added: “The important thing is hardware can be replaced.”

Kornienko called it “a big concern.” But he expressed “100 percent confidence” that operations will continue as planned until the next shipment arrives.

Supplying the space station is mostly handled by the United States and Russia. NASA hired SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. to provide regular shipments, once the shuttle program ended in 2011.

SpaceX plans to send up a load of supplies in June; its most recent shipment arrived less than two weeks ago.

This is the second cargo ship lost in the past half year.

In October, Orbital Sciences suffered a launch explosion in Virginia that destroyed a station supply ship.

NASA officials want a six-month supply of food on the space station, but because of the Orbital Sciences accident, the reserves are down a month or so. The Japanese Space Agency also periodically sends up cargo; it is aiming for a summer shipment

Six people currently live at the space station: two Americans, one Italian and three Russians.

Just days before Tuesday’s launch, Roscosmos announced that the cargo ship held a copy of the Banner of Victory, the red flag with the Soviet hammer and sickle that was raised over the Reichstag in Berlin by victorious Soviet soldiers in 1945. It is a highly revered symbol of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

But on Wednesday, the agency said the banner was already on the space station, arriving with Kelly and Kornienko in March.

Russia is planning extensive celebrations for the 70th anniversary of Victory Day on May 9.


Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)

 

Related Articles Read More >

Part 6: IDE and other software for connectivity and IoT design work
Part 4: Edge computing and gateways proliferate for industrial machinery
Part 3: Trends in Ethernet, PoE, IO-Link, HIPERFACE, and single-cable solutions
Machine Learning for Sensors

DESIGN GUIDE LIBRARY

“motion

Enews Sign Up

Motion Control Classroom

Design World Digital Edition

cover

Browse the most current issue of Design World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading design engineering magazine today.

EDABoard the Forum for Electronics

Top global problem solving EE forum covering Microcontrollers, DSP, Networking, Analog and Digital Design, RF, Power Electronics, PCB Routing and much more

EDABoard: Forum for electronics

Sponsored Content

  • Industrial disc pack couplings
  • Pushing performance: Adding functionality to terminal blocks
  • Get to Know Würth Industrial Division
  • Renishaw next-generation FORTiS™ enclosed linear encoders offer enhanced metrology and reliability for machine tools
  • WAGO’s smartDESIGNER Online Provides Seamless Progression for Projects
  • Epoxy Certified for UL 1203 Standard

Design World Podcasts

July 26, 2022
Tech Tuesdays: Sorbothane marks 40 years of shock and vibration innovation
See More >
Engineering Exchange

The Engineering Exchange is a global educational networking community for engineers.

Connect, share, and learn today »

Design World
  • Advertising
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Manage your Design World Subscription
  • Subscribe
  • Design World Digital Network
  • Engineering White Papers
  • LEAP AWARDS

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
    • Fluid power
  • Learn
    • Ebooks / Tech Tips
    • Engineering Week
    • Future of Design Engineering
    • MC² Motion Control Classrooms
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • LEAP AWARDS
  • Leadership
    • 2022 Voting
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guide Library
  • Resources
    • Subscribe!
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Women in Engineering
  • Supplier Listings