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86-688: The Proton-M , (Протон-М) GRAU index 8K82M or 8K82KM , is an expendable Russian heavy-lift launch vehicle derived from the Soviet -developed Proton . It is built by Khrunichev , and launched from sites 81 and 200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan . Commercial launches are marketed by International Launch Services (ILS), and generally use Site 200/39. The first Proton-M launch occurred on 7 April 2001. Proton flew its most recent mission on 12 March 2023. As of August 2020,

172-402: A Cyrillic character, indicates the subcategory. The third part, a number, indicates the specific model. The optional suffix can be used to differentiate variants of the same model. International Space Station This is an accepted version of this page The International Space Station ( ISS ) is a large space station that was assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by

258-572: A Proton rocket on 20 November 1998. Zarya provided propulsion, attitude control , communications, and electrical power. Two weeks later on 4 December 1998, the American-made Unity was ferried aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-88 and joined with Zarya . Unity provided the connection between the Russian and US segments of the station and would provide ports to connect future modules and visiting spacecraft. While

344-690: A virtual reality exhibit called The Infinite featuring life aboard the ISS was announced. The International Space Station is a product of global collaboration, with its components manufactured across the world. The modules of the Russian Orbital Segment , including Zarya and Zvezda , were produced at the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center in Moscow. Zvezda was initially manufactured in 1985 as

430-475: A "shorter version" of MARS-500 may be carried out on the ISS. In 2009, noting the value of the partnership framework itself, Sergey Krasnov wrote, "When compared with partners acting separately, partners developing complementary abilities and resources could give us much more assurance of the success and safety of space exploration. The ISS is helping further advance near-Earth space exploration and realisation of prospective programmes of research and exploration of

516-488: A 5500 kg payload into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). Efforts were also made to reduce dependency on foreign component suppliers. Most Proton-M launches have used a Briz-M upper stage to propel the spacecraft into a higher orbit. Launches have also been made with Blok-DM upper stages: six launches were made with the Blok DM-02 upper stage carrying GLONASS spacecraft, while seven further launches have used

602-519: A Proton-M/Briz-M rocket carrying Japan's JCSAT-11 communications satellite failed to achieve orbit, and fell in the Ulytau District of Kazakhstan . An investigation determined that first and second stages of the rocket had failed to separate, due to a damaged pyrotechnic cable. On 5 December 2010, the upper stage and payloads failed to reach orbital velocity due to overloading of the upper stage with 1500 kg of liquid oxygen, resulting in

688-418: A collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada). The ISS is the largest space station ever built. Its primary purpose is to perform microgravity and space environment experiments. Operationally, the station is divided into two sections: the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) assembled by Roscosmos, and

774-777: A component for the Mir-2 space station, which was never launched. Much of the US Orbital Segment , including the Destiny and Unity modules, the Integrated Truss Structure , and solar arrays , were built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans . These components underwent final assembly and processing for launch at

860-463: A dedicated NASA spacecraft. As the space race drew to a close in the early 1970s, the US and USSR began to contemplate a variety of potential collaborations in outer space. This culminated in the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project , the first docking of spacecraft from two different spacefaring nations. The ASTP was considered a success, and further joint missions were also contemplated. One such concept

946-554: A dozen Japanese universities conducted experiments in diverse fields. Cultural activities are another major objective of the ISS programme. Tetsuo Tanaka, the director of JAXA's Space Environment and Utilization Center, has said: "There is something about space that touches even people who are not interested in science." Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS) is a volunteer programme that encourages students worldwide to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, through amateur radio communications opportunities with

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1032-607: A fixed (non-gimballed) version of the RD-0210, and one RD-0214 which is a four nozzle vernier engine used for thrust vector control. The nozzles of the RD-0214 can turn up to 45.0°; they are placed around (with some separation), and moderately above the nozzle of the RD-0213. The Proton-M features modifications to the lower stages to reduce structural mass, increase thrust, and utilise more propellant. A closed-loop guidance system

1118-823: A full year after the previous flight on 6 June 2016. Among the various Proton-M failures, some have been caused by the upper stages used to allow the rocket to deliver payloads to higher orbit, notably the failures in May 2014 and May 2015. At least five earlier launches also succumbed to problems with the Briz-M upper stage; Arabsat-4A in February 2006, AMC-14 in March 2008, Ekspress AM4 in August 2011, Telkom-3 and Ekspress MD2 in August 2012 and Yamal-402 in December 2012. All of

1204-457: A full-fledged European orbital outpost before the end of the century. Increasing costs threw these plans into doubt in the early 1990s. Congress was unwilling to provide enough money to build and operate Freedom , and demanded NASA increase international participation to defray the rising costs or they would cancel the entire project outright. Simultaneously, the USSR was conducting planning for

1290-539: A laboratory, observatory, and factory while providing transportation, maintenance, and a low Earth orbit staging base for possible future missions to the Moon, Mars, and asteroids. However, not all of the uses envisioned in the initial memorandum of understanding between NASA and Roscosmos have been realised. In the 2010 United States National Space Policy , the ISS was given additional roles of serving commercial, diplomatic, and educational purposes. The ISS provides

1376-650: A lengthy interplanetary cruise, such as the six-month interval required to travel to Mars . Medical studies are conducted aboard the ISS on behalf of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI). Prominent among these is the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity study in which astronauts perform ultrasound scans under the guidance of remote experts. The study considers

1462-430: A location in the relative safety of low Earth orbit to test spacecraft systems that will be required for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars. This provides experience in operations, maintenance, and repair and replacement activities on-orbit. This will help develop essential skills in operating spacecraft farther from Earth, reduce mission risks, and advance the capabilities of interplanetary spacecraft. Referring to

1548-434: A lower payload capacity at a reduced price. Originally proposed end of 2016, Proton Light was cancelled in 2017 and Proton Medium was put on "indefinite hold" in 2018. The variants were designed to reduce the cost for launching medium and small commercial communications satellites into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). The variants were planned with a 2 + 1 stage architecture based on 3 stage Proton/Briz M, but dispensing with

1634-461: A new transporter-erector system and other ground infrastructure changes. The full-sized Proton-M can currently lift 6300 kg into a standard Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO); Proton Medium was planned to lift 5000 kg into a similar GTO while Proton Light was rated for 3600 kg. The 3000–5000 kg payload range includes all-electric and hybrid satellites that use ion thrusters to slowly make their way into geostationary orbit (GEO). In

1720-427: A number of Roscosmos and other Russian government missions remain on Proton launch manifest. The Proton-M launch vehicle consists of three stages; all of them powered by liquid rocket engines using the hypergolic propellant combination of dinitrogen tetroxide as the oxidizer, and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine for fuel. The first stage is unique in that it consists of a central cylindrical oxidizer tank with

1806-603: A parking orbit with 51.5° inclination , at 170 km to 230 km altitude (the Mission Planner's Guide also mentions 64.8° and 72.6° as standard inclinations for the parking orbit). Subsequently, the Briz-M performs orbital maneuvers to place the payload into either its final orbit or a transfer orbit. If a transfer orbit is used the final maneuver(s) are performed by the payload on its own propulsion system. As of 22 June 2024, 115 Proton-M launches had occurred, of which 11 failed or partially failed, yielding

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1892-489: A platform to conduct scientific research, with power, data, cooling, and crew available to support experiments. Small uncrewed spacecraft can also provide platforms for experiments, especially those involving zero gravity and exposure to space, but space stations offer a long-term environment where studies can be performed potentially for decades, combined with ready access by human researchers. The ISS simplifies individual experiments by allowing groups of experiments to share

1978-442: A propellant line and causing the vernier to lose thrust. In May 2015, a Proton-M with a Mexican telecommunications satellite, MexSat-1 , was lost due to problems with the third stage. Russian sources indicated that the problems had been the same as with the 2014 failure. An investigation determined that the third stage vernier engine RD-0214 failed due to excessive vibration loads, which had been caused by an increasing imbalance of

2064-555: A series of education guides, students develop a deeper understanding of the past and near-term future of crewed space flight, as well as that of Earth and life. In the JAXA "Seeds in Space" experiments, the mutation effects of spaceflight on plant seeds aboard the ISS are explored by growing sunflower seeds that have flown on the ISS for about nine months. In the first phase of Kibō utilisation from 2008 to mid-2010, researchers from more than

2150-462: A service designation. For example, one of the surface-to-air missiles in the S-25 Berkut air defense system had at least four domestic designations: Some Soviet general-purpose bombs bore a designation that looked confusingly similar to GRAU. The first part of a GRAU index is a number indicating which of the several main categories of equipment a given item belongs to. The second part,

2236-613: A success rate of 90%. Four of these failures were the results of problems with the Proton-M itself, six were caused by the Briz-M upper stage malfunctioning and leaving cargo in a useless orbit (albeit on two instances the satellites were able to maneuver to correct orbit under their own propulsion), and one was the result of a Blok DM-03 upper stage being incorrectly fueled, leaving the Proton too heavy to achieve orbit. In September 2007,

2322-519: A third set of arrays were delivered on STS-116 , STS-117 , and STS-118 . As a result of the major expansion of the station's power-generating capabilities, more modules could be accommodated, and the US Harmony module and Columbus European laboratory were added. These were soon followed by the first two components of the Japanese Kibō laboratory. In March 2009, STS-119 completed

2408-541: A typical mission, a Proton-M is accompanied by a Briz-M upper stage. The Proton-M launches the orbital unit (that is: the payload, the payload adapter and the Briz-M) into a slightly suborbital trajectory. The first and second stages and the payload fairing crash into designated crash sites; the third stage crashes into the ocean. After the third stage separates, the orbital unit coasts for a brief period, then Briz-M performs its first firing to achieve orbital injection into

2494-445: A wide range of free teaching materials that can be downloaded for use in classrooms. In one lesson, students can navigate a 3D model of the interior and exterior of the ISS, and face spontaneous challenges to solve in real time. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) aims to inspire children to "pursue craftsmanship" and to heighten their "awareness of the importance of life and their responsibilities in society". Through

2580-431: Is an important ISS research activity, with the objective of reaping economic benefits through the improvement of techniques used on Earth. Other areas of interest include the effect of low gravity on combustion, through the study of the efficiency of burning and control of emissions and pollutants. These findings may improve knowledge about energy production and lead to economic and environmental benefits. The ISS provides

2666-575: Is highly resistant to environmental hazards , were found to survive for three years in outer space , based on studies conducted on the International Space Station. These findings supported the notion of panspermia , the hypothesis that life exists throughout the Universe , distributed in various ways, including space dust , meteoroids , asteroids , comets , planetoids or contaminated spacecraft . Remote sensing of

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2752-534: Is intended to detect dark matter and answer other fundamental questions about our universe. According to NASA, the AMS is as important as the Hubble Space Telescope . Currently docked on station, it could not have been easily accommodated on a free flying satellite platform because of its power and bandwidth needs. On 3 April 2013, scientists reported that hints of dark matter may have been detected by

2838-501: Is likely to be a global effort." Currently, US federal legislation prevents NASA co-operation with China on space projects without approval by the FBI and Congress. The ISS crew provides opportunities for students on Earth by running student-developed experiments, making educational demonstrations, allowing for student participation in classroom versions of ISS experiments, and directly engaging students using radio, and email. ESA offers

2924-424: Is used on the first stage, which allows more complete consumption of propellant. This increases the rocket's performance slightly compared to previous variants, and reduces the amount of toxic chemicals remaining in the stage when it impacts downrange. It can place up to 21,000 kilograms (46,000 lb) into low Earth orbit . With an upper stage, it can place a 3000 kg payload into geostationary orbit (GEO), or

3010-403: The 2S19 Msta self-propelled howitzer, has the index 2S19 , without suffix; Msta-S is the codename. Several common misconceptions surround the scope and originating body of these indices. The GRAU designation is not an industrial designation, nor is it assigned by the design bureau. In addition to its GRAU designation, a given piece of equipment could have a design name, an industrial name and

3096-708: The Blok DM-03 . As of 2023, only a single Proton-M launch has taken place without an upper stage to launch Nauka and the European Robotic Arm (ERA) to the International Space Station in July 2021. Commercial launches conducted by ILS use two kinds of fairings: Both fairings have a diameter of 4.35 meters. On 7 July 2007, International Launch Services launched the first Proton-M Enhanced rocket (also called M+ ), which carried

3182-566: The Canadarm2 and Dextre , a joint Canadian-U.S. endeavor. All of these components were shipped to the SSPF for launch processing. The assembly of the International Space Station, a major endeavour in space architecture , began in November 1998. Modules in the Russian segment launched and docked autonomously, with the exception of Rassvet . Other modules and components were delivered by

3268-583: The DirecTV-10 satellite into orbit. This was the 326th launch of a Proton, the 16th Proton-M/Briz-M launch, and the 41st Proton launch to be conducted by ILS. It features more efficient first stage engines, updated avionics, lighter fuel tanks and more powerful vernier engines on the Briz-M upper stage, and mass reduction throughout the rocket, including thinner fuel tank walls on the first stage, and use of composite materials on all other stages. The second launch of this variant occurred on 18 August 2008, and

3354-583: The Freedom space station in response to a NASA request in 1982. In early 1985, science ministers from the European Space Agency (ESA) countries approved the Columbus programme, the most ambitious effort in space undertaken by that organization at the time. The plan spearheaded by Germany and Italy included a module which would be attached to Freedom , and with the capability to evolve into

3440-537: The MARS-500 experiment, a crew isolation experiment conducted on Earth, ESA states, "Whereas the ISS is essential for answering questions concerning the possible impact of weightlessness, radiation and other space-specific factors, aspects such as the effect of long-term isolation and confinement can be more appropriately addressed via ground-based simulations". Sergey Krasnov, the head of human space flight programmes for Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, in 2011 suggested

3526-518: The Mir-2 space station, and had begun constructing modules for the new station by the mid-1980s. However the collapse of the Soviet Union required these plans to be greatly downscaled, and soon Mir-2 was in danger of never being launched at all. With both space station projects in jeopardy, American and Russian officials met and proposed they be combined. The ISS was originally intended to be

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3612-577: The Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) , and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer . Gravity at the altitude of the ISS is approximately 90% as strong as at Earth's surface, but objects in orbit are in a continuous state of freefall , resulting in an apparent state of weightlessness . This perceived weightlessness is disturbed by five effects: Researchers are investigating the effect of the station's near-weightless environment on

3698-962: The Operations and Checkout Building and the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The US Orbital Segment also hosts the Columbus module contributed by the European Space Agency and built in Germany, the Kibō module contributed by Japan and built at the Tsukuba Space Center and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science , along with

3784-706: The Space Shuttle dock with a Salyut space station. In the early 1980s, NASA planned to launch a modular space station called Freedom as a counterpart to the Salyut and Mir space stations. In 1984 the ESA was invited to participate in Space Station Freedom , and the ESA approved the Columbus laboratory by 1987. The Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), or Kibō , was announced in 1985, as part of

3870-481: The Space Shuttle , which then had to be installed by astronauts either remotely using robotic arms or during spacewalks, more formally known as extra-vehicular activities (EVAs). By 5 June 2011 astronauts had made over 159 EVAs to add components to the station, totaling more than 1,000 hours in space. The foundation for the ISS was laid with the launch of the Russian-built Zarya module atop

3956-522: The US Orbital Segment (USOS), assembled by NASA, JAXA, ESA and CSA. A striking feature of the ISS is the Integrated Truss Structure , which connects the large solar panels and radiators to the pressurized modules. The pressurized modules are specialized for research, habitation, storage, spacecraft control, and airlock functions. Visiting spacecraft dock at the station via its eight docking and berthing ports . The ISS maintains an orbit with an average altitude of 400 kilometres (250 mi) and circles

4042-511: The Volga–Urals Military District . Since 2009, there have been a number of fires and explosions at GRAU ammunition storage depots. GRAU indices are of the form ⟨number⟩ ⟨letter⟩ ⟨number⟩ , sometimes with a further suffix ⟨letter⟩ ⟨number⟩ . They may be followed by a specially assigned codename. For example " 2 S 19   Msta-S ",

4128-412: The 2013 crash, this occurred more than nine minutes into the flight when one of the third stage verniers shut off, causing loss of attitude control. An automatic shutdown and destruct command was issued and the remains of the upper stages and payload impacted in northern China. An investigation committee concluded that the failure was most likely due to one of the turbopumps breaking off its mount, rupturing

4214-422: The 2nd stage and featuring minor lengthening of the other two stages. The Proton Light 1st stage was planned with 4 main engines and external tanks to the 6 used by Proton Medium and Proton-M. The cost was expected to be competitive with Ariane and SpaceX. The planned maiden flights were 2018 for Proton Medium and 2019 for Proton Light. They were expected to use Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/24 and would have required

4300-570: The 60th at Kaluga , the 63rd at Lipetsk , the 75th at Serpukhov south of Moscow, and the 97th at Skolin (all five in the Moscow Military District ). An additional possibly disused arsenal in the Moscow Military District is the 107th at Toropets . The 5th at Alatyr, Chuvash Republic , the 80th Arsenal at Gagarskiy, the 103rd Arsenal at Saransk , Mordovia , and the 116th at Krasno-Oktyabrskiy were all in

4386-785: The AMS. According to the scientists, "The first results from the space-borne Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer confirm an unexplained excess of high-energy positrons in Earth-bound cosmic rays". The space environment is hostile to life. Unprotected presence in space is characterised by an intense radiation field (consisting primarily of protons and other subatomic charged particles from the solar wind , in addition to cosmic rays ), high vacuum, extreme temperatures, and microgravity. Some simple forms of life called extremophiles , as well as small invertebrates called tardigrades can survive in this environment in an extremely dry state through desiccation . Medical research improves knowledge about

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4472-623: The Earth in roughly 93 minutes, completing 15.5 orbits per day. The ISS programme combines two prior plans to construct crewed Earth-orbiting stations: Space Station Freedom planned by the United States, and the Mir-2 station, planned by the Soviet Union. The first ISS module was launched in 1998. Major modules have been launched by Proton and Soyuz rockets and by the Space Shuttle launch system. The first long-term residents, Expedition 1 , arrived on 2 November 2000. Since then,

4558-474: The Earth, astronomy, and deep space research on the ISS have significantly increased during the 2010s after the completion of the US Orbital Segment in 2011. Throughout the more than 20 years of the ISS program, researchers aboard the ISS and on the ground have examined aerosols , ozone , lightning , and oxides in Earth's atmosphere, as well as the Sun , cosmic rays, cosmic dust , antimatter , and dark matter in

4644-468: The ISS crew. ARISS is an international working group, consisting of delegations from nine countries including several in Europe, as well as Japan, Russia, Canada, and the United States. In areas where radio equipment cannot be used, speakerphones connect students to ground stations which then connect the calls to the space station. First Orbit is a 2011 feature-length documentary film about Vostok 1 ,

4730-658: The Integrated Truss Structure with the installation of the fourth and final set of solar arrays. The final section of Kibō was delivered in July 2009 on STS-127 , followed by the Russian Poisk module. The US Tranquility module was delivered in February 2010 during STS-130 , alongside the Cupola , followed by the penultimate Russian module, Rassvet , in May 2010. Rassvet was delivered by Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-132 in exchange for

4816-684: The Russian Proton delivery of the US-funded Zarya module in 1998. The last pressurised module of the USOS, Leonardo , was brought to the station in February 2011 on the final flight of Discovery , STS-133 . Russia's new primary research module Nauka docked in July 2021, along with the European Robotic Arm which can relocate itself to different parts of the Russian modules of the station. Russia's latest addition,

4902-485: The Russian State Archive. Nespoli is credited as the director of photography for this documentary film, as he recorded the majority of the footage himself during Expedition 26 / 27 . The film was streamed in a global YouTube premiere in 2011 under a free licence through the website firstorbit.org . In May 2013, commander Chris Hadfield shot a music video of David Bowie 's " Space Oddity " on board

4988-500: The Solar system, including the Moon and Mars." A crewed mission to Mars may be a multinational effort involving space agencies and countries outside the current ISS partnership. In 2010, ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain stated his agency was ready to propose to the other four partners that China, India, and South Korea be invited to join the ISS partnership. NASA chief Charles Bolden stated in February 2011, "Any mission to Mars

5074-447: The [Russian] space industry as we know it". Critics claim that Proton rocket fuel ( unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH)) and debris created by Russia's space programme is poisoning areas of Russia and Kazakhstan . Residents claim that acid rain falls after some launches. Anatoly Kuzin, deputy director of the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center , has however denied these claims, saying: "We did special research into

5160-539: The connection of two modules built on different continents, by nations that were once bitter rivals was a significant milestone, these two initial modules lacked life support systems and the ISS remained unmanned for the next two years. At the time, the Russian station Mir was still inhabited. The turning point arrived in July 2000 with the launch of the Zvezda module. Equipped with living quarters and life-support systems, Zvezda enabled continuous human presence aboard

5246-461: The diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions in space. Usually, there is no physician on board the ISS and diagnosis of medical conditions is a challenge. It is anticipated that remotely guided ultrasound scans will have application on Earth in emergency and rural care situations where access to a trained physician is difficult. In August 2020, scientists reported that bacteria from Earth, particularly Deinococcus radiodurans bacteria, which

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5332-405: The effects of long-term space exposure on the human body, including muscle atrophy , bone loss , and fluid shift. These data will be used to determine whether high duration human spaceflight and space colonisation are feasible. In 2006, data on bone loss and muscular atrophy suggested that there would be a significant risk of fractures and movement problems if astronauts landed on a planet after

5418-682: The evolution, development, growth and internal processes of plants and animals. In response to some of the data, NASA wants to investigate microgravity 's effects on the growth of three-dimensional, human-like tissues and the unusual protein crystals that can be formed in space. Investigating the physics of fluids in microgravity will provide better models of the behaviour of fluids. Because fluids can be almost completely combined in microgravity, physicists investigate fluids that do not mix well on Earth. Examining reactions that are slowed by low gravity and low temperatures will improve our understanding of superconductivity . The study of materials science

5504-401: The exhaust to escape because the second stage begins firing seconds before separation. Known as " hot staging ," this eliminates the need for ullage thrusters on the second stage. Thrust vector control is provided by engine gimballing. The third stage is also of a conventional cylindrical design. It contains the avionics system that controls the first two stages. It uses one RD-0213 which is

5590-431: The first crewed space flight around the Earth. By matching the orbit of the ISS to that of Vostok 1 as closely as possible, in terms of ground path and time of day, documentary filmmaker Christopher Riley and ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli were able to film the view that Yuri Gagarin saw on his pioneering orbital space flight. This new footage was cut together with the original Vostok 1 mission audio recordings sourced from

5676-414: The forces experienced followed by the first stage breaking apart and erupting in flames. Impact with the ground occurred 30 seconds after liftoff. The preliminary report of the investigation into the July 2013 failure indicated that three of the first stage angular velocity sensors, responsible for yaw control, were installed in an incorrect orientation. As the error affected the redundant sensors as well as

5762-423: The fully assembled stack is transported again by rail, as it has enough clearance. The second stage uses a conventional cylindrical design. It is powered by three RD-0210 engines and one RD-0211 engine. The RD-0211 is a version of the RD-0210 modified with a heat exchanger used to pressurize the propellant tanks. The second stage is joined to the first stage through a net instead of a closed inter-stage, to allow

5848-465: The issue. The level of acidity in the atmosphere is not affected by the rocket launches [and] there is no data to prove any link between the illnesses, in Altai town and the influence of rocket fuel components or space activity of any kind". GRAU index The organization dates back to 1862 when it was established under the name Главное артиллерийское управление (ГАУ – GAU ). The "R" from "rockets"

5934-823: The launch pad around June 2017 to deliver the EchoStar-21 satellite to orbit. On 28 January 2017, the Russian government announced, as a result of the investigation into the failure of Progress MS-04 , the recall of all Proton-M 2nd and 3rd stage engines produced by the Voronezh Mechanical Plant , including the disassembly of three completed Proton rockets and a three and a half month suspension of flights. The investigation found that cheaper alternatives, unable to resist high temperatures, had been used in place of engine parts containing valuable minerals, and that production and certification documentation had been falsified. Proton returned to flight 8 June 2017,

6020-469: The loss of three GLONASS satellites it was carrying. In July 2013, a Proton-M/DM-03 carrying three GLONASS satellites failed shortly after liftoff. The booster began pitching left and right along the vertical axis within a few seconds of launch. Attempts by the onboard guidance computer to correct the flight trajectory failed and ended up putting it into an unrecoverable pitchover. The upper stages and payload were stripped off 24 seconds after launch due to

6106-484: The payloads were unusable except for Yamal-402, which was able to correct its orbit at the expense of several years' operational life, and AMC-14 which was sold to the US Government after SES determined that it couldn't complete its original mission. As a result of the July 2013, Proton-M launch failure, a major reorganization of the Russian space industry was undertaken. The United Rocket and Space Corporation

6192-418: The primary ones, the rocket was left with no yaw control, which resulted in the failure. Telemetry data also indicated that a pad umbilical had detached prematurely, suggesting that the Proton may have launched several tenths of a second early, before the engines reached full thrust. In May 2014, another Proton-M launch ended in failure, resulting in the loss of an Ekspress telecommunications satellite. Unlike

6278-505: The rotor in the turbopump and concluded it was the same cause of a prior accident in 1988. In a June 2016 launch, one of the four second stage engines shut down prematurely. The Briz-M was able to make up for the resulting stage under-performance and deliver the Intelsat 31 satellite to the intended orbit. Pending an investigation, the rocket was grounded for the rest of 2016 and first half of 2017: Proton-M at that time planned to return to

6364-412: The routinely scheduled launches of resupply craft allows new hardware to be launched with relative ease. Crews fly expeditions of several months' duration, providing approximately 160 person-hours per week of labour with a crew of six. However, a considerable amount of crew time is taken up by station maintenance. Perhaps the most notable ISS experiment is the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), which

6450-496: The same diameter as the other two stages with six fuel tanks attached to its circumference, each carrying an engine. The engines in this stage can swivel tangentially up to 7.0° from the neutral position, providing full thrust vector control . The rationale for this design is logistics: the diameter of the oxidizer tanks and the two following stages is the maximum that can be delivered by railroad to Baikonur. However, within Baikonur

6536-420: The same launches and crew time. Research is conducted in a wide variety of fields, including astrobiology , astronomy , physical sciences , materials science , space weather , meteorology , and human research including space medicine and the life sciences . Scientists on Earth have timely access to the data and can suggest experimental modifications to the crew. If follow-on experiments are necessary,

6622-471: The station has been continuously occupied for 24 years and 26 days, the longest continuous human presence in space. As of March 2024 , 279 individuals from 22 countries have visited the space station. The ISS is expected to have additional modules (the Axiom Orbital Segment , for example) and will be in service until the end of 2030, after which it is planned to be de-orbited by

6708-531: The station with Ku band communications, additional attitude control needed for the additional mass of the USOS, and additional solar arrays. Over the next two years, the station continued to expand. A Soyuz-U rocket delivered the Pirs docking compartment . The Space Shuttles Discovery , Atlantis , and Endeavour delivered the American Destiny laboratory and Quest airlock , in addition to

6794-554: The station's main robot arm, the Canadarm2 , and several more segments of the Integrated Truss Structure. Tragedy struck in 2003 with the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia , which grounded the rest of the Shuttle fleet, halting construction of the ISS. Assembly resumed in 2006 with the arrival of STS-115 with Atlantis , which delivered the station's second set of solar arrays. Several more truss segments and

6880-517: The station, which was released on YouTube. It was the first music video filmed in space. In November 2017, while participating in Expedition 52 / 53 on the ISS, Paolo Nespoli made two recordings of his spoken voice (one in English and the other in his native Italian), for use on Misplaced Pages articles. These were the first content made in space specifically for Misplaced Pages. In November 2021,

6966-472: The station. The first crew, Expedition 1 , arrived that November aboard Soyuz TM-31 . The ISS grew steadily over the following years, with modules delivered by both Russian rockets and the Space Shuttle. Expedition 1 arrived midway between the Space Shuttle flights of missions STS-92 and STS-97 . These two flights each added segments of the station's Integrated Truss Structure , which provided

7052-852: The universe. Examples of Earth-viewing remote sensing experiments that have flown on the ISS are the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3 , ISS-RapidScat , ECOSTRESS , the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation , and the Cloud Aerosol Transport System . ISS-based astronomy telescopes and experiments include SOLAR , the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer , the Calorimetric Electron Telescope ,

7138-578: Was International Skylab, which proposed launching the backup Skylab B space station for a mission that would see multiple visits by both Apollo and Soyuz crew vehicles. More ambitious was the Skylab-Salyut Space Laboratory, which proposed docking the Skylab B to a Soviet Salyut space station. Falling budgets and rising Cold War tensions in the late 1970s saw these concepts fall by the wayside, along with another plan to have

7224-567: Was added to the title from 19 November 1960. The GRAU is responsible for assigning GRAU indices to Russian army munitions and equipment . As of December 2021, the Chief of the GRAU was Major General Nikolay Romanovsky. Arsenals of the GRAU, according to Kommersant -Vlast in 2005, included the 53rd at Dzerzhinsk, Nizhniy Novogorod Oblast , the 55th in the Sklad-40 microraion at Rzhev ,

7310-409: Was formed as a joint-stock corporation by the government in August 2013 to consolidate the Russian space sector. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said "the failure-prone space sector is so troubled that it needs state supervision to overcome its problems". Three days following the failure, the Russian government had announced that "extremely harsh measures" would be taken "and spell the end of

7396-683: Was used to place Inmarsat 4 F3 into orbit. The baseline Proton-M was retired in November 2007, in favour of the Enhanced variant. Frank McKenna, CEO of ILS, has indicated that in 2010 the Phase III Proton design would become the standard ILS configuration, with the ability to lift 6150 kg to GTO. On 19 October 2011, ViaSat-1 weighing 6740 kg was lifted into GTO by the Proton-M/Briz-M Phase III. Proton Light and Proton Medium were two proposed variants with

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