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Kyle

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This is turning into a nightmare. The most stressful rendezvous I've ever seen.
 

Fabri91

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A translation from a Russian article link here:
1626958916523.png

Should the pressurization bellows have really burst a couple of questions open up:
  • Is enough fuel available for a rendezvous via RCS only?
  • Is the fuel system safe enough to keep Nauka docked to the rest of the ISS provided it's possible to get it there in the first place?
 

GLS

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  • Is enough fuel available for a rendezvous via RCS only?
  • Is the fuel system safe enough to keep Nauka docked to the rest of the ISS provided it's possible to get it there in the first place?
1) I'd say the RCS are feed from the same set of tanks, so they will also suffer from the "propellant with gas" issue. Depending on the design, they might be able to fire the large engines with a RCS propellant settling burn... but in the end, if the RCS don't burn cleanly, the docking part might be too risky to try.
2) Probably not, unless the tank pressure vessels leak.

Anyway, it's interesting to note that the source of many delays on the ground could now end up killing the module... ?‍♂️


An interesting "what if": if it can't dock, could a Progress and/or Soyuz be launched to rescue it?
 

GLS

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The MLM spacecraft carries a total of six 400-liter cylindrical tanks designated 77KM-6127-0. Two of them are used to store high-pressure gas and four others contain fuel and oxidizer under low pressure with a total mass of 2,432 kilograms. This amount is enough for the MLM to make it to the ISS after separation from the third stage of the Proton launch vehicle.
tanks_original_1.jpg

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/iss-fgb2-mlm-2017.html


Did all 4 membranes burst? Is the RCS feed from one set of tanks and the main engines from the other, or is everything connected? This could be the difference between salvaging* the module with a Progress or sending it to the Pacific.

*) It seems the propellant margin is ~30%, so even if they still have a good set of tanks I don't think it can get to the ISS on its own... :confused:
 

DaveS

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The MLM spacecraft carries a total of six 400-liter cylindrical tanks designated 77KM-6127-0. Two of them are used to store high-pressure gas and four others contain fuel and oxidizer under low pressure with a total mass of 2,432 kilograms. This amount is enough for the MLM to make it to the ISS after separation from the third stage of the Proton launch vehicle.
tanks_original_1.jpg

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/iss-fgb2-mlm-2017.html


Did all 4 membranes burst? Is the RCS feed from one set of tanks and the main engines from the other, or is everything connected? This could be the difference between salvaging* the module with a Progress or sending it to the Pacific.

*) It seems the propellant margin is ~30%, so even if they still have a good set of tanks I don't think it can get to the ISS on its own... :confused:
As far as I know, the MLM is currently not configured to support Progress/Soyuz dockings, it has the wrong docking ports. Both the forward and aft docking ports are of the hybrid SSVP/APAS variety while Soyuz/Progress uses the smaller SSVP docking mechanism. The one other docking port on the spherical docking node compartment is meant for the airlock currently attached to MRM-1 so it won't work either. So it has to get to ISS on its own.
 

GLS

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As far as I know, the MLM is currently not configured to support Progress/Soyuz dockings, it has the wrong docking ports. Both the forward and aft docking ports are of the hybrid SSVP/APAS variety while Soyuz/Progress uses the smaller SSVP docking mechanism. The one other docking port on the spherical docking node compartment is meant for the airlock currently attached to MRM-1 so it won't work either. So it has to get to ISS on its own.
It looks like the "Earth-facing" docking port has the capability to dock Progress/Soyuz using an adapter:
_119524538_mlm_at_baikonur.jpg

... so the question is: can they refuel from there? (I'm 99% sure there is no way to dock a 20 tn vessel with the control system of a 7 tn vessel)
Of course, the refueling would only work if they have at least one good set of tanks.


 

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for some reason, the above problems are only on Western English-language resources
the only malfunction I found was a problem with the antenna sensor
 

DaveS

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It looks like the "Earth-facing" docking port has the capability to dock Progress/Soyuz using an adapter:
_119524538_mlm_at_baikonur.jpg

... so the question is: can they refuel from there? (I'm 99% sure there is no way to dock a 20 tn vessel with the control system of a 7 tn vessel)
Of course, the refueling would only work if they have at least one good set of tanks.


The problem is where to get the adapter from? The only Progress available right now is the one that is scheduled to remove DC-1 from ISS. And you can't just order up an extra Progress, they're made exactly per a schedule, no extras.
 

DaveS

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for some reason, the above problems are only on Western English-language resources
the only malfunction I found was a problem with the antenna sensor
Both Anatoly Zak and Katya Pavluschenko are both excellent and trustworthy when it comes to the details of the Russian space program. Here's a Russian source: https://nplus1.ru/news/2021/07/22/props
 

N_Molson

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This is Russian tech from the Soviet school. There are critical failures that scare us sensitive westerners, but in the end it will work, because it is designed that way, there are backup options. I'm not too much concerned.
 

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...sometimes stereotypes make us feel better ;)
 

GLS

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https://www.roscosmos.ru/31978/

Experts have worked out test corrections of the orbit of the "Nauka" module

On Thursday, July 22, 2021, specialists of the flight control group of the multipurpose module "Nauka" in the Moscow Region Mission Control Center conducted two corrective maneuvers of the module launched the day before to the International Space Station.

The first maneuver took place at 18:07 Moscow time, when the engines of the module were turned on for 17.23 seconds. The impulse value was 1 m / s. The second switching on of the engines took place at 20:19 Moscow time and lasted 250.04 seconds. The impulse was 14.59 m / s.

Orbital parameters after two impulses:

Orbital period: 90.17 min;
Orbit inclination: 51.64 degrees;
Minimum orbital altitude: 230.43 km;
Maximum orbit altitude: 364.86 km.

Thus, the telemetry data confirmed the operability of the module's propulsion system. The next pulses for further orbit building are scheduled for tomorrow, July 23rd. Undocking and flooding of the Pirs module is scheduled for Saturday 24 July.
 

Kyle

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The situation looks much less grim than it did 12 hours ago. Looking hopeful they'll be able to get this to the ISS.
 
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