Progress M-3

Progress M-3 (Russian: Прогресс М-3) was a Soviet uncrewed cargo spacecraft which was launched in 1990 to resupply the Mir space station.^[2] The twentieth of sixty four Progress flights to visit Mir, it was a Progress-M 11F615A55 spacecraft, and had the serial number 203.^[3] It carried supplies including food, water and oxygen for the EO-6 crew aboard Mir, as well as equipment for conducting scientific research, and fuel for adjusting the station's orbit and performing manoeuvres.

Progress M-3

Mission type	Mir resupply
COSPAR ID	1990-020A
SATCAT no.	20513
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Progress-M 11F615A55
Manufacturer	NPO Energia
Launch mass	7,250 kilograms (15,980 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	28 February 1990, 23:10:57 (1990-02-28UTC23:10:57Z) UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-U2
Launch site	Baikonur Site 1/5
End of mission
Disposal	Deorbited
Decay date	28 April 1990, 00:52 (1990-04-28UTC00:53Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	378 kilometres (235 mi)[1]
Apogee altitude	400 kilometres (250 mi)[1]
Inclination	51.6 degrees
Docking with Mir
Docking port	Kvant-1 Aft
Docking date	3 March 1990, 01:04:32 UTC
Undocking date	27 April 1990, 20:24:43 UTC
Time docked	56 days

Progress M-3 was launched at 23:10:57 GMT on 28 February 1990, atop a Soyuz-U2 carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.^[3] It docked with the aft port of the Kvant-1 module at 01:04:32 GMT on 3 March.^[4][5] During the 56 days for which it was docked with Mir, the station was in an orbit of around 378 by 400 kilometres (204 by 216 nmi), with 51.6 degrees of inclination.^[1]

Progress M-3 undocked at 20:24:43 GMT on 27 April^[4] to make way for Progress 42. It was deorbited at 00:00:00 GMT the next day.^[4] It burned up in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, with any remaining debris landing in the ocean at around 00:52 GMT.^[1][4]

See also

• Spaceflight portal

• 1990 in spaceflight
• List of Progress flights
• List of uncrewed spaceflights to Mir