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Progress M

Since the cargo capacity of a manned Soyuz TM is limited to only a few hundred kilograms, a more efficient logistics vehicle was designed for support operations to Mir. Progress M (maiden flight in August, 1989) is a "modernized" version of the original Progress cargo freighter (1978-1990) which flew 43 times (including Kosmos 1669) without a docking failure. Derived from Soyuz TM, Progress M has a launch mass of approximately 7.3 metric tons and a length of 8.2 m. Whereas the service module is essentially the same as the one used by Soyuz TM, the central module is designed for carrying propellants, air, and water, while dry cargo is stored in the forward, nearly spherical compartment (Figure 3.11). Continual improvements to the spacecraft have increased the total payload cargo to 2.7 metric tons, although the use of the Soyuz-U launch vehicle instead of the Soyuz-U2 since mid-1993 has generally limited the cargo capacity to 2.5 metric tons. Progress M was originally rated for 30 days independent flight and up to 180 days attached to Mir. During 1993-1994 Progress M17 established new records with a 131-day stay at Mir and a total flight time of 337 days. Although Progress M spacecraft are destroyed during reentry, beginning in 1990 (Progress M5) a small Raduga recoverable capsule (payload capacity of 150 kg) has been used on about every other mission (References 87, 89-95).

87. V. A. Pivnyuk, Space Station Handbook, Matson Press, 1992.

88. Yu. Semenov and V. Timchenko, Pravda, 5 August 1987, p. 3.

89. W.R. Matson, ed., Cosmonautics. A Colorful History, Cosmos Books, 1994.

90. S.P. Korolev Space Corporation Energia, RKK Energiya, 1994.

91. Progress M., technical specification sheet distributed by Energiya NPO, 1991.

92. Recoverable Ballistic Capsule, technical specification sheet distributed by Energiya NPO, 1990.

93. Krasnaya Zvezda, 23 August 1989, p. 3.

94. Gudok, 26 August 1989, p. 4.

95. Sovetskaya Rossiya, 26 August 1989, p. 1.

Sources and Resources

• Adapted from: Europe and Asia in Space 1993-1994, Nicholas Johnson and David Rodvold [Kaman Sciences / Air Force Phillips Laboratory]

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