Progress M-34#Collision
{{Short description|Russian uncrewed cargo spacecraft of 1997}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name = Progress M-34
| image =
| image_caption =
| mission_type = Mir resupply
| operator =
| COSPAR_ID = 1997-014A
| SATCAT =
| mission_duration =
| spacecraft_type = Progress-M 11F615A55
| manufacturer = NPO Energia
| dry_mass =
| launch_mass = {{convert|7156|kg|lb}}
| launch_date = {{start date text|6 April 1997, 16:04:05|timezone=yes}} UTC
| launch_rocket = Soyuz-U
| launch_site = Baikonur Site 1/5
| disposal_type = Deorbited
| decay_date = {{end date text|2 July 1997, 06:31:50|timezone=yes}} UTC
| orbit_epoch =
| orbit_reference = Geocentric
| orbit_regime = Low Earth
| orbit_periapsis =
| orbit_apoapsis =
| 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 = 8 April 1997, 17:30:01 UTC
| undocking_date = 24 June 1997, 10:22:45 UTC
| time_docked = 76.7 days
}} {{Infobox spaceflight/Dock
| docking_target = Mir
| docking_type = dock
| docking_port = Kvant-1 Aft
| docking_date = 25 June 1997, {{circa}}09:20 UTC
Docking failed
}}
| cargo_mass =
| cargo_mass_press =
| cargo_mass_fuel =
| cargo_mass_gas =
| cargo_mass_water =
}}
Progress M-34 ({{langx|ru|Прогресс М-34|italic=yes}}) was a Russian uncrewed cargo spacecraft which was launched in 1997 to resupply the Mir space station,{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1997-014A|title=Progress M-34|publisher=US National Space Science Data Center|work=NSSDC Master Catalog|access-date=26 April 2012}} and which subsequently collided with Mir during a docking attempt, resulting in significant damage to the space station.
Spacecraft
The 52nd of 64 Progress spacecraft to visit Mir, it used the Progress-M 11F615A55 configuration,{{cite web|url=http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/progress-m.htm|title=Progress-M 1 - 13, 15 - 37, 39 - 67 (11F615A55, 7KTGM)|first=Gunter|last=Krebs|publisher=Gunter's Space Page|access-date=26 April 2012}} and had the serial number 234.{{cite web|url=http://planet4589.org/space/log/launchlog.txt|title=Launch Log|last=McDowell|first=Jonathan|publisher=Jonathan's Space Page|access-date=26 April 2012}} It carried supplies including food, water, and oxygen for the EO-23 crew aboard Mir, as well as equipment for conducting scientific research, and fuel for adjusting the station's orbit and performing maneuvers. Among its cargo were two new spacesuits, three fire extinguishers, oxygen candles, and equipment to facilitate repairs to Mir's life support system.
Launch and docking
Progress M-34 was launched at 16:04:05 UTC on 6 April 1997, atop a Soyuz-U carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Following two days of free flight, it docked with the Aft port of Mir's Kvant-1 module at 17:30:01 GMT on 8 April.{{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/proressm.htm|title=Progress M|last=Wade|first=Mark|publisher=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=26 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090710175743/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/proressm.htm|archive-date=10 July 2009}}{{cite web|url=http://space.kursknet.ru/cosmos/english/cargoes/prm34.sht|first=Alexander|last=Anikeev|publisher=Manned Astronautics - Figures & Facts|title=Cargo spacecraft "Progress M-34"|access-date=26 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009095654/http://space.kursknet.ru/cosmos/english/cargoes/prm34.sht|archive-date=9 October 2007}}
Collision
Progress M-34 undocked from Mir at 10:22:45 UTC on 24 June 1997, in preparation for a docking test planned for the next day. On 25 June 1997, the spacecraft re-approached Mir under manual control (TORU), in a test intended to establish whether Russia could reduce the cost of Progress missions by eliminating the Kurs automated docking system. At 09:18 UTC, whilst under the control of Vasily Tsibliyev, the Progress spacecraft collided with the space station's Spektr module, damaging both the module itself, and a solar panel. Following the collision, Progress M-34 was manoeuvred away from the station, before being deorbited on 2 July.{{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=26 April 2012}} Its deorbit burn was conducted at 05:34:58 UTC, with the spacecraft being destroyed during reentry over the Pacific Ocean at 06:31:50.
See also
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p028l07k Collision in orbit]
{{Orbital launches in 1997}}
{{Progress spacecraft}}
Category:Spacecraft launched in 1997
Category:Progress (spacecraft) missions