Launch of Progress MS-08 space station cargo freighter scrubbed
A Soyuz 2.1a with the Progress MS-08 freighter encapsulated sits atop launch pad 31 at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: Roscosmos
It was deja vu for the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos. Less than a minute before its planned launch to the International Space Station, the Progress MS-08 cargo mission was scrubbed. The issue appeared similar in nature to one that occurred in October 2017.
Launch atop a Soyuz 2.1a booster was to have taken place at 3:58 a.m. EST (08:58 GMT) Feb. 11, 2018, from launch pad 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Just like in October, the flight was to test out a new super-fast rendezvous profile to arrive at the ISS within two orbits, or about 3.5 hours.
“Russian flight controls and launch engineers down at the Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan are evaluating the data to see what happened and what corrective action would be taken in order to permit a launch,” said mission commentator Rob Navias on NASA TV.
It is unclear when the next launch opportunity will occur, although Roscosmos has a reserve date of Feb. 13 allocated. When the previous Progress incurred a similar scrub on the same launch pad, it finally took to the skies two days later.
Also just like the October 2017 flight, when the spacecraft does launch, it will now take a much-longer 34-orbit rendezvous as the precise orbital alignment necessary for the fast-track are no longer available.
The Feb. 11 countdown proceeded smoothly until the abort. At around 35 seconds before the planned liftoff time, the first of two umbilical towers were retracted as planned. Just like four months ago, the second, smaller tower was supposed to retract around the 12-second mark to trigger the launch ignition sequence. This did not happen, and the engines did not ignite.
According to Roscosmos, Progress MS-08 is set to deliver some 3,060 pounds (1,390 kilograms) of dry cargo, 1,960 pounds (890 kilograms) of fuel, 926 pounds (420 kilograms) of water, and 100 pounds (46 kilograms) of oxygen to the outpost for Expedition 54. It will dock with the aft port of the Zvezda service module.
Video courtesy of SciNews
Derek Richardson
Derek Richardson has a degree in mass media, with an emphasis in contemporary journalism, from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. While at Washburn, he was the managing editor of the student run newspaper, the Washburn Review. He also has a website about human spaceflight called Orbital Velocity. You can find him on twitter @TheSpaceWriter.
Why are the Russians bothering to expedite Progress dockings when the 2-day approach works well? Soyuz crew transportation makes perfect sense taking into account the astronauts and cosmonauts adaptation, cramped quarters and limited modcons on board.
Is it a half-baked attempt to compete with SpaceX, which has in the past implied a fast-track Dragon rendezvous profile with ISS as a distinct possibility? Either way, the fact that 2 out of 2 Progress launch attempts were scrubbed at lift-off shows the Russian human spaceflight program has a crisis of confidence.
A 6 de Fevereiro os engenheiros e técnicos da Corporação RKK Energia e da Corporação Roscosmos procederam à inspecção visual do exterior do Progress MS-08 e de seguida foi dada autorização para o encapsulamento do veículo, colocando-o no interior da carenagem de protecção e constituindo assim o denominado ‘Módulo Orbital’.