Progress MS-15

Progress MS-15 (Russian: Прогресс МC-15), Russian production No. 444, identified by NASA as Progress 76P, was a Progress spaceflight operated by Roscosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). This was the 167th flight of a Progress spacecraft.^[5]

Progress MS-15

Progress MS-15 after undocking from the ISS
Names	Progress 76P
Mission type	ISS resupply
Operator	Roscosmos
COSPAR ID	2020-050A
SATCAT no.	45937
Mission duration	1771 days, 1 hour, 52 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Progress MS-15
Spacecraft type	Progress MS
Manufacturer	Energia
Launch mass	7000 kg
Payload mass	2540 kg
Start of mission
Launch date	23 July 2020, 14:26:21 UTC[1][2][3]
Rocket	Soyuz-2.1a
Launch site	Baikonur, Site 31/6
Contractor	RKTs Progress
End of mission
Disposal	Deorbited
Decay date	9 February 2021, 09:13 UTC [4]
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Inclination	51.65°
Docking with ISS
Docking port	Pirs nadir
Docking date	23 July 2020, 17:45 UTC
Undocking date	9 February 2021, 05:21 UTC
Time docked	200 days, 11 hours, 36 minutes
Cargo
Mass	2540 kg
Pressurised	2540 kg
Fuel	620 kg
Gaseous	46 kg (oxygen)
Water	420 kg
Progress flights ← Progress MS-14 Progress MS-16 →

History

The Progress-MS is an uncrewed freighter based on the Progress-M featuring improved avionics. This improved variant first launched on 21 December 2015. It has the following improvements:^[5][6][7]

• New external compartment that enables it to deploy satellites. Each compartment can hold up to four launch containers. First time installed on Progress MS-03.
• Enhanced redundancy thanks to the addition of a backup system of electrical motors for the docking and sealing mechanism.
• Improved Micrometeoroid (MMOD) protection with additional panels in the cargo compartment.
• Luch Russian relay satellites link capabilities enable telemetry and control even when not in direct view of ground radio stations.
• GNSS autonomous navigation enables real time determination of the status vector and orbital parameters dispensing with the need of ground station orbit determination.
• Real time relative navigation thanks to direct radio data exchange capabilities with the space station.
• New digital radio that enables enhanced TV camera view for the docking operations.
• The Ukrainian Chezara Kvant-V on board radio system and antenna/feeder system has been replaced with a Unified Command Telemetry System (UCTS).
• Replacement of the Kurs A with Kurs NA digital system.

Launch

A Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle was used to launch Progress MS-15 to the International Space Station. Progress MS-15 was launched at 14:26:21 UTC from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 31 on a fast-track trajectory. Following a nominal launch, Progress MS-15 docked with the Pirs port on the ISS two orbits later at 17:45:00 UTC.^[3][8]

Docking

Around 3 hours 20 minutes after the launch, Progress MS-15 successfully docked automatically at the nadir port of the Pirs module at 17:45:00 UTC,^[3][8][9] where it remained until February 2021.^[4] After its mission was completed, Progress MS-15 departed and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere for destruction over the South Pacific Ocean.^[4]

Cargo

The Progress MS-15 spacecraft delivered 2,540 kg (5,600 lb) of cargo, with 1,430 kg (3,150 lb) of this being dry cargo. The following is a breakdown of cargo bound for the ISS:^[1]

• Dry cargo: 1,430 kg (3,150 lb)
• Fuel: 620 kg (1,370 lb)
• Oxygen: 46 kg (101 lb)
• Water: 420 kg (930 lb)

Undocking and decay

The Progress MS-15 remained docked at the station through on 9 February 2021, when it departed with trash and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere for destruction over the South Pacific Ocean.^[4] The Pirs module, originally scheduled to be removed and discarded at the end of this mission,^[10][11] will stay attached to the station until the arrival of the Nauka module.

See also

• Uncrewed spaceflights to the International Space Station