Preparations for launches in February of the Progress MS-16 spacecraft and the Arktika-M spacecraft have passed into the last stages
Already on February 15, the launch of the Progress MS-16 cargo transport vehicle should take place. It will replace Progress MS-15, which has already left the ISS and burned out in the atmosphere. On February 9, 2021, the ship underwent an author’s inspection, after which a set of technological operations for rolling the nose fairing was performed in preparation for launch.
These operations were carried out in the assembly and testing building of site No. 254 by specialists from the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, named after S.P. Korolev and other enterprises. After checking the launch readiness of the Progress MS-16 as part of the space warhead, it will be allowed for transportation to the general assembly with the launch vehicle in the community and test building of site No. 31.
The launch will take place from the launch complex of site No. 31 of the Baikonur cosmodrome. The spacecraft must deliver onboard the International Space Station refueling fuel, supplies of drinking water and air, resource equipment for onboard control and life support systems, medical control and sanitary and hygienic support, food rations, and fresh food for the crew members of the active expedition.
Besides, the ship is to deliver a special repair kit to repair a crack in the Zvezda module that is causing an air leak, as well as several materials and equipment for the Russian program of scientific and applied research:
- packing “Neurolab” is intended for carrying out a series of medical experiments “Pilot-T” to study the influence of long-term space flight factors on the quality of professional activity of cosmonauts;
- the materials of the “Aseptic” investigation will make it possible to develop means of ensuring sterility when performing experiments in space flight;
- the device “Photobioreactor” will be used to study the possibility of obtaining food and oxygen from algae in microgravity;
- the “Cascade” equipment will serve as a laboratory for the development of effective methods of biotechnological production of cell cultures in microgravity conditions;
- Biodegradation probes will monitor microorganisms’ composition in the ISS atmosphere to study their effect on structural materials in space.At the same time, preparations are underway for the launch of the Arktika-M spacecraft. The refueling process, which began on February 4, was completed on Sunday, February 7, 2021. After that, the device was transported to the assembly and testing building to prepare assembly as part of the space warhead of the Soyuz-2.1b space rocket. Its launch is scheduled for the end of February this year from the launch complex of site 31 of the Baikonur cosmodrome.
Let’s remind: the spacecraft “Arktika-M,” developed in the Scientific and Production Association named after S.A. Lavochkin, is intended for regular (with a frequency of 15-30 minutes) surveying of the Arctic region of the Earth, being in the apogee of the highly elliptical orbit of the “Molniya” type. In the future, a constellation of such satellites will be created, which will allow monitoring the planet’s surface and the seas of the Arctic Ocean around the clock, regardless of the weather. The second device of the family is planned to be sent into orbit in 2023.
