Russia's Progress Cargo Craft Experiences Antenna Glitch
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.”
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