Russia’s Progress M-19M robotic cargo spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on schedule this morning even though one of the navigation antennas did not deploy.

Russian ground controllers sent a software patch to tell the spacecraft’s automated KURS docking system to ignore the lack of data that ordinarily would be provided by the ASF2 antenna.  It provides data on relative roll of the spacecraft when it is within 20 meters of the ISS.

The ISS crew was ready to use the manual TORU docking system if KURS failed, but it was not needed.  After Progress soft-docked with the ISS, ground controllers very slowly withdrew the docking probe, a process that enables the closing of latches that secure the spacecraft to the ISS — a hard dock.  During that process, ground controllers continually asked the ISS crew if they heard anything unusual that would indicate that the undeployed antenna was interfering with the docking mechanism.   The crew assured them that nothing sounded awry, but offered to go out on a spacewalk to visually inspect the area.  In the end, however, all was well.

NASA calls this Progress 51 because this is the 51st Progress cargo spacecraft to dock with the ISS.   The Progress program dates back to 1978, however, and there were many, many Progress flights to Soviet space stations before the ISS was built.  The Soviet Union launched six successful Salyut space stations beginning in 1971 followed by the modular Mir space station, which operated from 1986-2001.

The Progress spacecraft itself has been upgraded several times over the decades.   This is the 19th flight of the current version, hence its Russian designation of Progress M-19M.

Although Progress dockings have long since become routine, there are always risks.  A Progress spacecraft collided with the Mir space station in 1997 during a manual docking procedure.  It punctured one of Mir’s modules, creating an emergency situation when the space station began to depressurize.  Quick work by the Mir crew saved the space station, although that module (Spektr) was unusable for the remainder of Mir’s lifetime.  The accident occurred during a period of U.S.-Russian space cooperation where Russians flew on the U.S. space shuttle and American astronauts were included in Mir crews.  NASA astronaut Michael Foale was aboard Mir at the time.  A brief and compelling account of the accident is available on NASA’s history office website with links to additional material.

Russia’s RIA Novosti is quoting Russian space officials as saying that the docking of Progress M-19M will proceed on schedule tomorrow morning Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) even though its navigation antenna did not deploy.

The robotic cargo spacecraft was launched yesterday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.  Once on orbit, one of the antennas for its KURS navigation system used to bring it in for docking with the International Space Station (ISS) failed to deploy, however.  The spacecraft is continuing on its 2-day rendezvous course to meet up with ISS tomorrow morning, Friday, April 26.   The nominal schedule calls for docking at 8:26 am EDT.  NASA TV will provide live coverage beginning at 6:30 am EDT.

RIA Novosti reported that ground controllers will continue to try to get the antenna to deploy, but quoted a spokesman for the Russian space enterprise Energia as saying “Even if we fail, the problem with the antenna should not hamper the docking.”  The ISS crew will be instructed to conduct a manual docking instead of an automated docking if the antenna remains undeployed.

NASA’s new asteroid retrieval mission has not won over two influential voices in space policy debates.  Cornell University’s Steve Squyres and George Washington University’s Scott Pace told the National Research Council (NRC) on Monday that it is not necessarily the best next step for the U.S. human spaceflight program.

The NRC’s Committee on Human Spaceflight met Monday and Tuesday in Washington, DC.  The committee is tasked with describing the value proposition of the human spaceflight program – what do taxpayers see as its value for the money spent – and providing advice on future planning for that program.  Among the topics discussed was NASA’s new asteroid retrieval strategy to capture an asteroid, redirect it into a retrograde lunar orbit, and send astronauts to retrieve a sample.

Squyres chairs the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) and is perhaps best known as the principal investigator for the twin Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity.  He also chaired the NRC’s 2011 Decadal Survey for planetary science.   In addition to talking about NAC’s view of NASA’s human exploration program, he shared his personal views on topics NAC had not yet considered, including the new asteroid retrieval strategy.

His personal recommendation is that NASA not attempt to sell the asteroid retrieval mission either on the basis of exploring asteroids or that it is a more effective way to satisfy President Obama’s goal of using an asteroid mission as a step towards Mars.  Quoting the President’s April 15, 2010 speech at Kennedy Space Center, Squyres reminded the committee that the President’s goal was to build “new spacecraft designed for long journeys … beyond the Moon into deep space,” which is not what the new strategy entails.  He agrees that understanding asteroids is an important scientific goal, but not one that requires humans on-site.   Humans and robots work effectively together in exploring complex environments like Mars where Earth-bound scientists cannot anticipate the many surprises that lie ahead. Comparatively straightforward environments like that of an asteroid can be effectively explored with robotic spacecraft alone, he believes.

Squyres does, however, support the idea of sending astronauts into cis-lunar space for longer periods of time than during the Apollo era, such as the 22-day mission envisioned for the asteroid retrieval mission.   In his view, that is worth doing whether or not an asteroid has been redirected there.  His major concern personally, which he said also has been expressed by NAC, is that “NASA needs a compelling and clearly articulated goal for future human spaceflight that is consistent with its budget.”

Pace strongly supported a robust U.S. human spaceflight program, but not the asteroid mission as a step towards Mars.   He said he is “hard pressed to run into anybody who thinks that going to an asteroid is the right way primarily to go to Mars.”  He believes that the Obama Administration made a decision “not to do anything the prior Administration was doing” in space, and that is how the asteroid idea emerged despite broad bipartisan and international support for returning to the Moon as laid out in President George W. Bush’s Vision for Space Exploration.  Pace was a high ranking NASA official in the Bush Administration.

Asked what would happen if the United States abandoned human spaceflight entirely, Pace said it would diminish U.S. influence on the global stage in discussions about space issues such as orbital debris and sustainability.  “We will have made ourselves irrelevant to a lot of discussions,” adding that he sees some of that reduced influence already with the U.S. decision to withdraw from cooperation with Europe in the robotic ExoMars missions.   “Countries are not upset at us. They simply think we’re irrelevant….I can’t think of [anything] that is … more dangerous or serious for a great power than to be considered irrelevant.”

Russia launched the Progress M-19M cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) today, April 24, but a navigational antenna failed to deploy once it reached orbit. 

The robotic spacecraft is on a two-day rendezvous course to the ISS and ground controllers are continuing to try to resolve the problem.  It is carrying 2.5 tons of cargo for the ISS crew.

Russia’s RIA Novosti quotes a Russian mission control spokesman as saying that “We have failed so far to deploy the antenna (after two attempts), but we consider this a secondary issue at this point.”  The antenna is part of the Kurs navigation system that guides the spacecraft to its docking port.

The only word from NASA appears to be a tweet this morning that said:  “Update: Once in orbit, an antenna used as a navigational aid on the Progress did not deploy. Russian ground controllers are assessing a fix.”