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Offline Orionid

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Robot-carrying capsule launches on test flight to space station
August 22, 2019 Stephen Clark


The Russian Skybot F-850 robot, seen here inside the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft after launch, will undergo experiments at the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV/Roscosmos

With a robot rather than a cosmonaut in the commander’s seat, a Russian Soyuz spacecraft rocketed into orbit from Kazakhstan late Wednesday (U.S. time) en route to the International Space Station on a critical test flight before crews begin riding an upgraded Soyuz booster next year.

A Soyuz-2.1a rocket fired into a clear sky over Site 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:38:32 p.m. EDT Wednesday (0338:32 GMT; 8:38:32 a.m. local time Thursday), right on time to launch on a trajectory to intercept the space station.

The kerosene-fueled launcher arced toward the east-northeast from Baikonur, shedding its four first stage boosters and launch escape system less than two minutes after liftoff. An aerodynamic shroud later released from the Soyuz spacecraft, and the Soyuz core stage shut down and fell away nearly five minutes into the mission.

On-board video views showed the rocket’s staging events occurring as intended, and a third stage RD-0110 engine powered the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft into orbit. The capsule deployed from the third stage nearly nine minutes into the flight, and the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft’s solar arrays and navigation antennas unfurled moments later, just as they would on a mission carrying a crew to the space station.

But the Soyuz MS-14 spaceship launched without a crew — the first Soyuz crew craft to fly without cosmonauts in 33 years — to allow Russian engineers to conducted a fully automated test flight. The experimental mission was conceived to test the compatibility of the Soyuz spacecraft with the upgraded Soyuz-2.1a booster, a modernized variant of the venerable Russian rocket family that is slated to begin launching crews next March.



A Soyuz-2.1a booster climbs away from Site 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: Roscosmos

The Soyuz-2.1a rocket variant has launched dozens of times since 2004, including ten flights with Progress cargo freighters on missions to resupply the space station.

But one of the Progress supply ships launched on a Soyuz-2.1a booster in April 2015 went into an uncontrolled spin after separating from the Soyuz third stage. Russian engineers traced the failure to a botched deployment of the Progress spacecraft from the Soyuz third stage.

The 2015 Progress accident prompted Russian officials to fly the first Soyuz crew capsule on a Soyuz-2.1a rocket without people aboard.

The Soyuz-FG variant currently used to launch Soyuz crews to the space station is set for retirement later this year.

One more Soyuz-FG rocket remains in Russia’s inventory, and it is scheduled to launch Sept. 25 carrying the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft into orbit with commander Oleg Skripochka, NASA co-pilot Jessica Meir and flight engineer Hazzaa Ali Almansoori, set to become the first person from the United Arab Emirates to fly in space.

The Sept. 25 launch of the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft is the final planned mission to lift off from Site 1 at Baikonur, the same facility used on the launch of Yuri Gagarin on humanity’s first orbital flight in April 1961.

Beginning next March, Soyuz crews will launch on Soyuz-2.1a boosters from Site 31 at Baikonur, which is outfitted for the upgraded Soyuz-2 family.

The Soyuz-2.1a’s upgrades include a modernized digital flight control system, replacing the analog guidance system on older Soyuz models, along with improvements to engine injection systems.

The digital control system allows the Soyuz-2.1a rocket to execute a roll program a few seconds after liftoff to reach the correct azimuth to align its flight path with the space station’s orbit. The Soyuz-FG rocket currently used to launch Soyuz crews has to be rotated into the correct orientation on the launch pad before liftoff.

After its successful ride into space, the Soyuz MS-14 vehicle will raise its altitude and match its orbit with the space station, setting up for a docking with the Poisk module at 0530 GMT (1:30 a.m. EDT) Saturday.



The Skybot F-850 robot, seen here, will launch to the International Space Station on the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft. Credit: Roscosmos

Instead of a crew, the Soyuz MS-14 spaceship is hauling 1,450 pounds (657 kilograms) of cargo to the space station, including the Russian Skybot F-850 robot, a two-legged, two-armed humanoid stand-in for a cosmonaut commander.

Skybot F-850 sat in the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft’s center seat during launch, holding a Russian flag in one hand. Soon after reaching orbit, an in-cabin video feed showed the robot turning its head side-to-side.

The Skybot F-850 will not manipulate any flight controls during the Soyuz mission, but sensors on the robot’s body will measure key parameters — such as acceleration, vibrations, temperature and humidity — during the flight, including launch, docking and landing.

Alexander Bloshenko, a science advisor at Roscosmos, said the Skybot F-850 robot will conduct experiments at the space station prepared by Russian engineers.

Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov will work with Skybot F-850 after it arrives at the station. Skvortsov will be able to communicate with the robot, according to Roscosmos.

Cosmonauts will move Skybot F-850 will into the space station for five days of experiments and tests, before returning the robot to the Soyuz capsule for the trip back to Earth, according to Rob Navias, a NASA spokesperson.

Measuring nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall and weighing about 350 pounds (160 kilograms), Skybot F-850 will replicate the movements of Skvortsov during a series of tests in orbit. If the tests are successful, Russia could launch upgraded robots that could work outside the space station, helping crews with tasks on spacewalks, or allowing cosmonauts to avoid spacewalks altogether, Bloshenko said.

The Skybot F-850 robot is an evolution of Russia’s FEDOR series of robots, which engineers originally developed for rescue operations. Videos from ground testing have shown the FEDOR robot shooting guns, lifting weights and driving a car.

The Russian Foundation for Advanced Research Projects, with a role similar to DARPA in the U.S. government, led the development of the FEDOR robot. FEDOR stands for Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research.

Skybot F-850 is not the first robot to travel to the space station.

NASA’s experimental Robonaut 2 robot launched to the station in 2011, but the robot returned to Earth last year in need of repairs. Robonaut 2 could return to the space station later this year.

Roscosmos created a Twitter account for the Russian robot set to fly to the station, complete with tweets composed from Skybot F-850’s point-of-view.

In one tweet, it wrote that conditions inside the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft were tight. The robot can “barely fit among the cargo in the cabin” of the spaceship, the tweet said.

The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft will remain at the space station for more than 13 days. The spaceship — with Skybot F-850 — will undock from the Poisk module at 2:13 p.m. EDT (1813 GMT) on Sept. 6, heading for a parachute-assisted landing in south-central Kazakhstan at 5:35 p.m. EDT (2135 GMT).

Navias said the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft will also test new systems during re-entry and landing, which could pave the way for Russia to develop a payload return vehicle based on the Soyuz design.

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is currently the only vehicle capable of returning significant cargo to Earth from the space station. There is limited room for crews to bring home equipment or experiment specimens inside the cramped Soyuz descent module.


Source: https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/08/22/robot-carrying-capsule-launches-on-test-flight-to-space-station/

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Odp: [SFN] Robot-carrying capsule launches on test flight to space station
« Odpowiedź #1 dnia: Sierpień 25, 2019, 01:10 »
Station crew to clear new port for second Soyuz docking attempt
August 24, 2019 Stephen Clark [SFN]


Expedition 60 flight engineer Luca Parmitano trains inside the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft before launch at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: Andrey Shelepin/GCTC

Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, joined by Italian flight engineer Luca Parmitano and NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan, plans to relocate his Soyuz spacecraft to a new docking port on the International Space Station Monday (Moscow time), clearing a spot for the unpiloted Soyuz MS-14 spaceship to attempt another automated approach to the complex Tuesday after aborting its first rendezvous, Russian officials said.

Russian flight controllers devised the plan Saturday, hours after the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft failed to dock with the station on its first try. Cosmonauts on-board the station commanded the Soyuz MS-14 capsule to abort its approach, and the ship backed off to a safe distance.

Engineers working at Russian mission control in Korolev, near Moscow, determined an amplifier on the space station’s Poisk docking module, located on the zenith — or space-facing — side of the Zvezda service module, was not functioning correctly. The amplifier is part of the passive side of the Kurs rendezvous radar system, which guides approaching Soyuz crew ships and Progress cargo freighters to automated dockings with the space station.

The active side of the Kurs radar system, located on the Soyuz itself, is designed to send signals toward the station to determine the range and closure rate between the two vehicles. The data feeds into the Soyuz flight computer to govern its final approach, firing thrusters to control the ship’s speed and orientation relative to the station.

Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said in a statement Saturday that Skvortsov and his crewmates will undock their Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft Monday (Moscow time) from a docking port on the aft end of the Zvezda module. Flying the Soyuz by hand, Skvortsov will guide the ship to a manual link-up with the Poisk module, where the automated docking system is no longer functioning.

Skvortsov, a veteran cosmonaut on his third space mission, will practice for the manual docking using a simulator on-board the station, Roscosmos said.

The relocation maneuver is expected to last about a half-hour. Russian officials said it will clear the Zvezda aft port, which has a working Kurs amplifier, for the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft to try a second approach to the station Tuesday (Moscow time).

“The situation is complicated, however is under control,” Roscosmos said.

Representatives from Roscosmos, NASA and other international partners planned to meet later Saturday to formally approve the Soyuz relocation plan.



The Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft approaches the International Space Station on July 20. Credit: NASA/ESA/Roscosmos

The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft is the first Soyuz vehicle to fly without a crew in 33 years. Russian space officials ordered the unpiloted test flight to verify the spacecraft’s compatibility with the upgraded Soyuz-2.1a booster, which will replace an older Soyuz rocket model for crew launches beginning next March.

On the unpiloted test flight, the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft can only dock with the station in automatic mode, using inputs from the Kurs rendezvous radar.

There is no cosmonaut aboard to take manual control, as would be the case on a typical Soyuz mission. The Soyuz MS-14 is also not outfitted with the TORU system, which flies on Progress cargo freighters, allowing cosmonauts inside the space station remotely control the spacecraft for docking if necessary, using a video feed from the approaching vehicle for cues.

Skvortsov and crewmate Alexey Ovchinin monitored the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft’s rendezvous from inside the station Saturday. The spaceship stopped its approach at a range of about 300 feet, or 90 meters, from the station’s Poisk module after the Kurs system was unable to lock on to the docking target.

Live video from orbit showed the Soyuz MS-14 vehicle wildly pointing side-to-side, unable to maintain a stable lock on the station.

Russian flight controllers instructed Skvortsov to issue an abort command from a control panel inside the station. The Soyuz began backing away at 1:36 a.m. EDT (0536 GMT), around five minutes after the planned docking time.



Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov. Credit: NASA

Roscosmos said the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft’s test flight proceeded according to plan before Saturday’s aborted docking. The successful launch Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan bodes well for Russia’s planned switch to the upgraded Soyuz-2.1a rocket for crew launches next year, the Russian space agency said in a statement.

The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft is set to deliver around 1,450 pounds (658 kilograms) of cargo and supplies to the space station, according to NASA.

The Russian Skybot F-850 robot, a two-legged, two-armed humanoid stand-in for a cosmonaut commander, is strapped into the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft’s center seat.

The Skybot F-850 is not designed to manipulate any flight controls during the Soyuz mission, but sensors on the robot’s body are measuring key parameters — such as acceleration, vibrations, temperature and humidity — during the flight, including launch, docking and landing.

Once the Soyuz docks at the station, Skvortsov plans to conduct experiments with the robot for several days. The robot is designed to follow commands and replicate the movements of its human operator.

Before Saturday’s aborted docking, the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft was scheduled to depart the station and return to Earth with the Skybot F850 robot Sept. 6. Russian officials did not say Saturday if the Soyuz spaceship’s return would remain on schedule after the docking problem.


Source: https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/08/24/station-crew-to-clear-port-for-second-soyuz-docking-attempt/

Offline Orionid

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Odp: [SFN] Robot-carrying capsule launches on test flight to space station
« Odpowiedź #2 dnia: Wrzesień 13, 2019, 07:35 »
Soyuz spacecraft, humanoid robot return to Earth after 16-day test flight
September 6, 2019 Stephen Clark [SFN]


The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft departs the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now

An unpiloted Russian Soyuz spacecraft, carrying a humanoid robot instead of cosmonauts, parachuted to a rare nighttime landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan Friday (U.S. time) to wrap up a test flight to the International Space Station that paved the way for crewed launches using upgraded Soyuz boosters next year.

The 16-day test flight, which launched Aug. 22, also demonstrated technology Russia aims to use on a future automated payload return vehicle to bring cargo and experiments back to Earth.

The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft’s descent module landed in a rural zone of south-central Kazakhstan at 2132 GMT (5:32 p.m. EDT) Friday, or 3:32 a.m. local time Saturday at the landing site, according to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency.

The spacecraft brought Russia’s Skybot F-850 robot back to Earth after completing a series of tests with Russian cosmonauts on the space station.

The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft arrived at the station Aug. 26, three days after a dramatic docking abort caused by a faulty amplifier in the automated rendezvous system on the space station’s Poisk docking port.

Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov and two crewmates repositioned their Soyuz MS-13 capsule to Poisk in a manual maneuver to clear the way for the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft to try another automated approach to the aft port of the station’s Zvezda module.

The second rendezvous went according to plan.

The station crew opened hatches leading to the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft and unpacked some 1,450 pounds (657 kilograms) of equipment inside the ship.

One of the experiments delivered by the Soyuz was a two-legged, two-armed humanoid robot named Skybot F-850.

Under the supervision of Skvortsov and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, Skybot F-850 completed a series of technological experiments on the station over the last week-and-a-half.

Measuring nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall and weighing about 350 pounds (160 kilograms), Skybot F-850 is an evolution of Russia’s FEDOR series of robots, which engineers originally developed for rescue operations. Videos from ground testing have shown the FEDOR robot shooting guns, lifting weights and driving a car.

The robot can replicate the movements of a human operator, and Skybot F-850 successfully connected cables and worked with tools used by cosmonauts on spacewalks outside the station, according to Roscosmos. A video released by Roscosmos showed Skvortsov wearing virtual reality head gear to provide inputs to the robot.

Russia could launch future upgraded robots that could work outside the space station, helping crews with tasks on spacewalks, or allowing cosmonauts to avoid spacewalks altogether, according to Alexander Bloshenko, a science advisor at Rosccosmos.

The Russian Foundation for Advanced Research Projects, with a role similar to DARPA in the U.S. government, led the development of the FEDOR robot. FEDOR stands for Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research.


Cytuj
FEDOR

Так я пытался состыковать электросоединители. Эта операция входит в перечень операций в рамках внекорабельной деятельности. Зачёт
Twitter

A Twitter account set up for the space robot included updates from Skybot F-850’s perspective throughout the mission, including videos and images of it looking out the space station’s window and conducting demonstrations with Skvortsov and Ovchinin.

The robot launched in the center seat of the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft, and the station crew strapped Skybot F-850 into the same seat for Friday’s undocking and landing.

Like the ship’s rendezvous, the departure and re-entry occurred in autopilot mode. The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft was the first Soyuz crew ferry craft to fly without human occupants in 33 years.

Russian officials approved the unpiloted test flight to verify the Soyuz spacecraft’s compatibility with the upgraded Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle, which will begin carrying crews into orbit next March.

The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft also tested a modified motion control system, and a modernized digital descent control system based using fiber-optic gyroscopes to replace an old analog system with a free gyroscope.

The new re-entry control system could be used on a future Soyuz payload return vehicle that could bring heavier cargo back to Earth from the space station. Crewed Soyuz missions have a limited capacity to land with cargo and experiments.

With the Soyuz MS-14 mission complete, the space station crew is readying for the arrival of a Japanese HTV cargo ship next week.

The eighth HTV resupply mission, also known as Kounotori 8, is set for liftoff aboard an H-2B rocket from Tanegashima Island, Japan, at 2133 GMT (5:33 p.m. EDT) Tuesday, Sept. 10. The automated supply ship is scheduled to arrive at the space station Sept. 14 with more than 7,700 pounds — about 3.5 metric tons — of supplies and experiments.


Source: https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/09/06/soyuz-spacecraft-humanoid-robot-return-to-earth-after-16-day-test-flight/

Offline Adam.Przybyla

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Odp: [SFN] Robot-carrying capsule launches on test flight to space station
« Odpowiedź #3 dnia: Październik 28, 2019, 10:17 »
Do wykorzystania tego robota na stacji przymierzja sie Japonia i moze ... Korea:
https://tass.com/science/1085490 - jesli japonczycy pomoga rosjanowm w rozwoju
tego robota to bedzie ciekawie;-) Z powazaniem
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Odp: [SFN] Robot-carrying capsule launches on test flight to space station
« Odpowiedź #3 dnia: Październik 28, 2019, 10:17 »