The Russian laboratory module Nauka has easily joined the International Space Station (ISS). However, the astronauts at the station later experienced a slight horror, as the module’s rocket propulsion took place, according to the agency Reuters they accidentally ignited and took the station off course for a while.
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This forced personnel aboard the ISS to launch jets on the Russian segment of the station to suppress the effect.
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The drive of the module began to glow “unintentionally and unexpectedly, causing the station to deviate from the (normal) position by 45 degrees. Rescue operations have restored the station’s position and the crew is not in danger, “said the US space agency NASA on Twitter.
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Following this morning’s docking of the Nauka module to the @Space_Station, the module’s thrusters started firing at 12:45pm ET inadvertently and unexpectedly, moving the station 45 degrees out of attitude. Recovery operations have regained attitude and the crew is in no danger: pic.twitter.com/jFlDZD7ZHp
– NASA (@NASA) July 29, 2021
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Russian space agency Roscosmos, according to the agency Tass the problem attributes a software error to the fact that during the incident work was underway to switch the module from “flight” mode to “ISS connection” mode. The rest of the fuel also remained in the module slightly unconventionally.
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The connection of the Nauka module to the ISS has been delayed for more than ten years. Russia is trying to support its space industry, which is lagging behind after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and is trying to keep up with competition from the United States, the daily wrote. The Guardian.
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The Nauka module was launched last week from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It flew to the ISS with a Russian Proton rocket and represents the first Russian connection of the module to the ISS in 11 years. It will now take several months for the module to fully integrate with the space station, and astronauts will have to make several ascents into space.
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The incident was managed
Vladimir Solovyov, general designer of the Russian space corporation Energie Vladimir Solovyov, tried to reassure international partners that the incident had been managed, and said that the astronauts would soon put it into operation.
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The crew is now working on pressure equalization in the Nauka module.
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“Due to a short-term software failure, a direct command was accidentally executed to turn on the motors of the module, which led to a certain change in the orientation of the station as a whole. The crew is now working on pressure equalization in the Nauka module. Later, the crew will enter the module, turn on the necessary means to clean the atmosphere and start normal work, “said Solovyov in a statement.
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“Currently, the station is in a normal orientation and all systems on the ISS are functioning normally,” Solovyov emphasized.
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Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novicki, who is on board, on Friday to his supporters at Twitter he told them not to be afraid. “Dear friends, I read your numerous comments. Do not worry! Our work on the International Space Station to integrate the emerging Science module continues! We will open the hatches tonight. We will inform you!”
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The astronauts were not in danger
The seven crew members on board – two Russian astronauts, three NASA astronauts, a Japanese astronaut and a European Space Agency astronaut from France – have never been in immediate danger, according to NASA.
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Russia’s Roskosmos space agency said Nauka engines were being inspected remotely by Russian specialists to ensure the safety of all people and to allow the ISS to continue its normal flight path safely.
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A very difficult and important victory.
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According to Roskosmos, the docking was successful, the seal between the new module and the rest of the ISS remained hermetically sealed. Just a day before, the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, welcomed the docking of the Science module on the ISS, saying that it was a “very difficult and important victory.”
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On Twitter warmly received congratulations from businessman and visionary Elon Musk. Rogozin also spoke about plans for the November launch of another Russian module to the ISS.
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The launch was closely monitored by the European Space Agency, as there was a robotic arm aboard the Doctrine, which would be the first to be able to work on the Russian part of the ISS.
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Science, which means science in Russian, will be used primarily for research and storage of laboratory equipment. It will also provide more storage space, new water and oxygen regeneration systems and better living conditions for astronauts in the Russian ISS sector. The multi-purpose laboratory module Nauka was conceived in the mid-1990s, when it was intended as a backup module for the Russian control module Zarja.
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Difficulties with financing
It was later rebuilt into a scientific module, but joined a number of stagnant Russian space projects that fell victim to funding problems or bureaucracy. The launch of the 20-ton Nauka module – one of the largest on the ISS – was originally scheduled for 2007, but was repeatedly postponed due to various problems.
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We will not lie… We were worried for the first three days.
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Last week’s launch was successful, but according to the European Space Agency, Nauka “struggled with several snags in orbit during the eight-day journey to the ISS.” “We will not lie… We were worried for the first three days,” Rogozin told reporters after anchoring the Doctrine, according to RIA Novosti.
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The teaching replaced the long-serving Pirs docking module, which joined the ISS in 2001 as a temporary addition, but eventually remained in operation for two decades. The Pirs module disconnected from the ISS earlier this week, and its charred remains fell into the Pacific Ocean.
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The ISS, launched in 1998 and involving Russia, the United States, Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency, is one of the few projects in which Russia is still cooperating with the West.
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In April, Russia said it was considering withdrawing from the ISS program with reference to an aging infrastructure and planned to launch the first basic module of the new orbital station in 2025.
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Russia has announced a number of projects in recent years, including a mission to Venus and a station on the moon, but as the Kremlin redirects funds to military projects, analysts question the feasibility of these ambitions.
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However, the Roskosmos space authority has been hit by a number of accidents and corruption scandals, including the construction of the Vostočny spaceport in the Far East, where contractors have been accused of embezzling state funds.
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