According to anik, there are now three Progress in Baikonur. 443, 448 and 444.https://twitter.com/anik1982space/status/1197882260164210693
Progress MS-15 - July 23:https://ria.ru/20200311/1568446341.html
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/2020.html#progress_ms16QuoteDecember 11: A Soyuz-2-1a rocket to launch the Progress MS-16 cargo ship (production No. 445, ISS mission 77P) from Baikonur's Site 31 to the International Space Station, ISS. The vehicle is expected to fly a two-day rendezvous profile and dock at the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module, SM, a part of the ISS' Russian Segment. During the planning of the ISS launch manifest in the Fall of 2019, the Progress MS-16 mission was expected to last 220 days, but its December 11, 2020, launch date also put the cargo ship into the time window for a potential back-up role as a "burial" vehicle for the Pirs Docking Compartment, SO1. The disposal operation would free the nadir (Earth-facing) docking port on the Zvezda Service Module, SM, for the arrival of the MLM Nauka module. The primary role to discard Pirs was at the time assigned to the Progress MS-15 mission, however a potential delay with the December 2020 launch of the Nauka would shift the responsibility for the Pirs' disposal to Progress MS-16, because mission control wanted to keep the Pirs at the station until the delivery of Nauka was imminent. To perform its disposal backup duty, Progress MS-16 would need a number of avionics for automated and manual control, which would have to be installed during its pre-launch processing in Baikonur. The exact launch date of Progress MS-16 was also subject to change depending on the status of the MLM launch (Insider Content).
December 11: A Soyuz-2-1a rocket to launch the Progress MS-16 cargo ship (production No. 445, ISS mission 77P) from Baikonur's Site 31 to the International Space Station, ISS. The vehicle is expected to fly a two-day rendezvous profile and dock at the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module, SM, a part of the ISS' Russian Segment. During the planning of the ISS launch manifest in the Fall of 2019, the Progress MS-16 mission was expected to last 220 days, but its December 11, 2020, launch date also put the cargo ship into the time window for a potential back-up role as a "burial" vehicle for the Pirs Docking Compartment, SO1. The disposal operation would free the nadir (Earth-facing) docking port on the Zvezda Service Module, SM, for the arrival of the MLM Nauka module. The primary role to discard Pirs was at the time assigned to the Progress MS-15 mission, however a potential delay with the December 2020 launch of the Nauka would shift the responsibility for the Pirs' disposal to Progress MS-16, because mission control wanted to keep the Pirs at the station until the delivery of Nauka was imminent. To perform its disposal backup duty, Progress MS-16 would need a number of avionics for automated and manual control, which would have to be installed during its pre-launch processing in Baikonur. The exact launch date of Progress MS-16 was also subject to change depending on the status of the MLM launch (Insider Content).
Is Progress MS-15 still scheduled to dock with Pirs and then remove it from the ISS at the end of its mission?(Nauka launch is still officially scheduled for November 30, 2020.)Is the on-orbit lifetime of the Progress MS spacecraft still approximately 7 months?If yes, then the Nauka launch (Pirs' replacement) could slip as late as early February 2021, before the Pirs disposal job would be performed by Progress MS-16?Is there any special equipment needed aboard a Progress MS spacecraft to perform the removal of Pirs and de-orbiting it?
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/schedule.html#.V9JyuzXnHZ4QuoteJuly 23, Thursday10 a.m. – Coverage of the Launch of the International Space Station Progress 76 cargo craft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan; launch scheduled at 10:26 a.m. EDT – Johnson Space Center via Baikonur, Kazakhstan (All Channels)
July 23, Thursday10 a.m. – Coverage of the Launch of the International Space Station Progress 76 cargo craft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan; launch scheduled at 10:26 a.m. EDT – Johnson Space Center via Baikonur, Kazakhstan (All Channels)
Quote1 p.m. – Coverage of the rendezvous and docking of the Progress 76 cargo craft to the International Space Station; docking scheduled at 1:47 p.m. EDT (All Channels)
1 p.m. – Coverage of the rendezvous and docking of the Progress 76 cargo craft to the International Space Station; docking scheduled at 1:47 p.m. EDT (All Channels)
"Progress MS-15" was tested in an anechoic chamberAt the Baikonur cosmodrome, autonomous tests of the on-board radio systems of the Progress MS-15 transport cargo vehicle were completed in the anechoic chamber of the assembly and test building at platform No. 254.An anechoic chamber is a specialized room covered with radar absorbing material to simulate space conditions. During the day, specialists of the Rocket and Space Corporation "Energy" named after S.P. Korolev and the Yuzhny Space Center (a branch of the Center for the Operation of Terrestrial Space Infrastructure Facilities), included in the perimeter of Roscosmos State Corporation, performed operations to verify the operation of the radio-electronic equipment of the Kurs-NA system, which ensures rapprochement and docking of the spacecraft Progress MS-15 ”with the International Space Station. After testing, the ship was installed in a dynamic stand for further prelaunch training.The Progress MS-15 automatic cargo ship should deliver to the crew of the 63rd Expedition the fuel, water and gas supplies, as well as life support and storage equipment for space experiments under the program of the 76th ISS supply mission.#ProgressMS15 #Spacecraft
