Russia on Wednesday successfully launched a long-delayed lab module for the
International Space Station that is intended to provide more room for
scientific experiments and space for the crew.
A Proton-M booster rocket carrying the Nauka module lifted off as scheduled
at 7:58 pm local time (14:58 GMT) from the Russian space launch facility in
Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The navigational antennas and solar arrays deployed
properly after a flawless launch that set the module on an eight-day journey
to the orbiting outpost.
After a series of maneuvers, the 20-metric-ton (22-ton) module is set to
dock at the International Space Station in automatic mode on July 29.
The launch of Nauka, also called the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, had
been repeatedly delayed because of technical problems. It was initially
scheduled to go up in 2007.
In 2013, experts found contamination in its fuel system, resulting in a long
and costly replacement. Other Nauka systems also underwent modernization or
repairs.
A launch previously set for July 15 was postponed until Wednesday due to the
need to fix unspecified flaws.
Before Nauka docks at the station, one of the older Russian modules, the
Pirs spacewalking compartment, will need to be removed and scrapped to free
up room for the new module. Russian space controllers plan to perform the
maneuver Friday after they check and confirm that Nauka's systems operate
properly and the module is ready for docking.
Russian crewmembers on the station have done two spacewalks to connect
cables in preparation for Nauka's arrival. Once Nauka docks at the station,
it will require a long series of manuevers, including up to 11 spacewalks
beginning in early September, to prepare it for operation.
The International Space Station is currently operated by NASA astronauts
Mark Vande Hei, Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur; Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr
Dubrov of Russia's Roscosmos space corporation; Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas
Pesquet.
In 1998, Russia launched the station's first module, Zarya, which was
followed in 2000 by another big module, Zvezda, and three smaller modules in
the following years. The last of them, Rassvet, arrived at the station in
2010.
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Space & Astrophysics