Progress M 1-6 Docks With ISS

Following its 2-day autonomous flight to the International Space Station
(ISS) Orbital Complex around near-earth orbit, rendezvous maneuvers
with the Complex, its fly-around, hovering and berthing, the Russian
Progress M 1-6 logistics vehicle has docked successfully with the ISS
Orbital Complex.

At 4 hours 23 minutes 57 seconds Moscow Summer Time the contact of the
Russia-provided Zvezda Service Module axial docking port took place
just as the Orbital Complex was flying within ground coverage of the
Russian ground measurement stations. This port was cleared by the Soyuz
TM-31 manned vehicle (carrying the ISS first visiting crew back to Earth)
on May 6, 2001 and remained free since then.

The logistics vehicle has delivered 1.3 tons of ‘dry’ cargoes and 1.2
tons of propellant, including 0.96 ton of the propellant for refuelling
the the Zvezda Module United Propulsion System. The ‘dry’ cargoes contain
scientific equipment, 172 kg; the cargoes for personal use by the second
Prime Crew (ISS-2) members, 419 kg; food products and medical supplies,
261 kg; flight documentation and parcels for crew, 19 kg; oxygen, equipment
and apparatus for outfitting of the onboard systems, cargoes for the
gas composition system, water supply system, thermal control system.

The ISS-2 crew involving the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachev (Commander),
American astronauts James Voss (Flight Engineer-1) and Susan Helms (Flight
Engineer-2) will have to unload and accommodate the delivered cargoes
onboard the station, disassemble the logistics vehicle-housed rendezvous
system apparatus with the aim to further return it to Earth for reuse,
as well as ensure loading of the used materials and hardware into the
vehicle.

The logistics vehicle rendezvous, fly-around, hovering, berthing and
docking were implemented under control of the Lead Operational Control
Team (LOCT) at the Mission Control Center (MCC-M) and the ISS-2 crew.

During the Progress M 1-6/ISS Orbital Complex docking the following
persons were present at MCC-M: Yu.P. Semenov, Technical Manager of the
Russian Manned Space Programs, General Designer of RSC Energia after
S.P. Korolev, the academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences; RSC
Energia experts; representatives of Rosaviakosmos and industry subcontractors.

The ISS Orbital Complex of about 120.5 tons by mass is currently operating
with the following modules included: the Russia-provided Soyuz TM-32
manned vehicle – the Zvezda Service Module – the Zarya Functional Cargo
Block – the US-provided Unity Module – the US Laboratory Module Destiny
– the Progress M 1-6 logistics vehicle. The Complex onboard systems
are operating in a design mode.

The Complex flight is commanded from MCC-M (Korolev, Moscow Region)
in cooperation with the American Mission Control Center (MCC-H) based
in Houston, the USA. According to the LOCT experts, the Orbital Complex
is flying around near-earth orbit having the following parameters: maximum
altitude of 416.0 km; minimum altitude of 378.4 km; orbital period of
92.2 min.