Progress M-3

{{Short description|Progress resupply mission to Mir}}

{{Infobox spaceflight

| name = Progress M-3

| image =

| image_caption =

| mission_type = Mir resupply

| operator =

| COSPAR_ID = 1990-020A

| SATCAT =

| mission_duration =

| spacecraft_type = Progress-M 11F615A55

| manufacturer = NPO Energia

| dry_mass =

| launch_mass = {{convert|7250|kg|lb}}

| launch_date = {{start-date|28 February 1990, 23:10:57|timezone=yes}} UTC

| launch_rocket = Soyuz-U2

| launch_site = Baikonur Site 1/5

| disposal_type = Deorbited

| decay_date = {{end-date|28 April 1990, 00:52|timezone=yes}} UTC

| orbit_epoch =

| orbit_reference = Geocentric

| orbit_regime = Low Earth

| orbit_periapsis = {{convert|378|km}}

| orbit_apoapsis = {{convert|400|km}}

| orbit_inclination = 51.6 degrees

| orbit_period =

| apsis = gee

| docking =

{{Infobox spaceflight/Dock

| docking_target = Mir

| docking_type = dock

| docking_port = Kvant-1 Aft

| docking_date = 3 March 1990, 01:04:32 UTC

| undocking_date = 27 April 1990, 20:24:43 UTC

| time_docked = 56 days

}}

| cargo_mass =

| cargo_mass_press =

| cargo_mass_fuel =

| cargo_mass_gas =

| cargo_mass_water =

}}

Progress M-3 ({{langx|ru|Прогресс М-3|italic=yes}}) was a Soviet uncrewed cargo spacecraft which was launched in 1990 to resupply the Mir space station.{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1990-020A|title=Progress M-3|publisher=US National Space Science Data Center|work=NSSDC Master Catalog|access-date=2009-08-26}} The twentieth of sixty four Progress flights to visit Mir, it was a Progress-M 11F615A55 spacecraft, and had the serial number 203.{{cite web|url=http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt|title=Launch Log|last=McDowell|first=Jonathan|publisher=Jonathan's Space Page|access-date=2009-08-26}} It carried supplies including food, water and oxygen for the EO-6 crew aboard Mir, as well as equipment for conducting scientific research, and fuel for adjusting the station's orbit and performing manoeuvres.

Progress M-3 was launched at 23:10:57 GMT on 28 February 1990, atop a Soyuz-U2 carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It docked with the aft port of the Kvant-1 module at 01:04:32 GMT on 3 March.{{cite web|url=http://space.kursknet.ru/cosmos/english/cargoes/prm3.sht|first=Alexander|last=Anikeev|publisher=Manned Astronautics - Figures & Facts|title=Cargo spacecraft "Progress M-3"|access-date=2009-08-26|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009100706/http://space.kursknet.ru/cosmos/english/cargoes/prm3.sht|archive-date=2007-10-09}}{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/proressm.htm|title=Progress M|last=Wade|first=Mark|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=2009-08-26|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090710175743/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/proressm.htm|archive-date=2009-07-10}} During the 56 days for which it was docked with Mir, the station was in an orbit of around {{convert|378|by|400|km|nmi}}, with 51.6 degrees of inclination.

Progress M-3 undocked at 20:24:43 GMT on 27 April to make way for Progress 42. It was deorbited at 00:00:00 GMT the next day. It burned up in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, with any remaining debris landing in the ocean at around 00:52 GMT.{{cite web|url=http://www.planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt|title=Satellite Catalog|last=McDowell|first=Jonathan|publisher=Jonathan's Space Page|access-date=2009-08-26}}