Russian cargoship fluffs Space Station docking test Russian cargoship Progress M-15M has failed to couple with the International Space Station in a test of its new automated docking system. Russian 'Progress' cargo vessel as seen from the International Space Station Russian Progress not making much progress today Progress had already dropped off its supplies to the ISS, but …
Dragon can't perform any sort of automated docking at all. The capsule is manouvered manually from the ground until it is close enough to be grabbed by the arm on the ISS. The ISS crew then dock the craft using the arm. Progress can dock automatically when it is manouvered close to the ISS whilst ESA's ATV is completely autonomous in that from the moment it launches it's on it's own. It steers it's own way to the ISS and once close enough performs it's own docking. No outside intervention required. Whilst Dragon is a wonderful achievement it has a long way to go before matching the automated Progress and ATV vehicles navigation and docking capabilities.
They often dismount bits of the existing Kurs system and bring them back for re-use if there's room available on a Soyuz return which helps stretch the supply, but there's also a "Not made in Russia" element going on. Significant parts of the old system are made in Ukraine and they're trying to reduce the dependence of their whole space programme on what are now foreign countries.
"It's not an advantage if it doesn't work."
I thought all the best software stopped working if you didn't pay for an upgrade at least once every couple of years?
Or is it only gullible IT departments that believe this rubbish?
Dragon capsule, Progress that wants to come back for more, Japanese unit,...
Sounds like it's getting busy up there.
And Dragon was not even capable of attempting an automated docking yet. It had to be grabbed by the Canadarm. Russia had automated docking years and years ago. I don't think NASA ever had automated docking capabilities.
They may be doing it with old parts and old technology, but the Russians do have some spacefaring tricks of their own.
Beer because it's National Tequila Day in the USA, and that's the closest available icon. Salud!
During the last Shuttle flight to the ISS in 2011 the station had the Japanese HTV-2 cargo ship, a Progress cargo capsule, a Soyuz capsule and the European "Amaldi" ATV docked to it at various ports. The Shuttle's launch was delayed by a few days as the ATV was manoeuvering to dock with the ISS and the mission controllers didn't like the idea of having two separate spacecraft moving around in the vicinity of the station at the same time.
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"The cargoship was 161km from the station when the glitch occurred and has now backed up to 484km, Russian space agency Roscosmos and Russian Mission Control said in a joint statement."
...aren't they? :) Docking was already under way from HUNDRED AND SIXTY KILOMETERS AWAY...? And it's backed up to almost FIVE HUNDRED kilometers just to try again?
It makes a difference when there's not much traffic around you, I guess.
Indeed. This would be much easier if we were using proper measurements with a basis in the real world, so here are some better figures.
ISS is currently orbiting at a height approximately equal to 121,689 African elephants standing on top of each other.
The Russian cargo ship was at a distance of roughly 14,636 London bus lengths from ISS when it had a problem, and it has since backed off to 44,000 London bus lengths.
They're both orbiting at around 45 megafurlongs per fortnight (it's hard to visualise this sort of speed, but if you imagine a Reg journalist heading towards a pint of beer on the other side of the room you probably won't be too far off).
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