science

Progress M-04M

Progress M-04M is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Progress M-04M rather than just read about it. In short: Progress M-04M (Russian: Прогресс М-04М), identified by NASA as Progress 36P, was a Russian Progress spacecraft launched in February 2010 to resupply the International Space Station. It was docked with the aft port of the Zvezda module of the station.

Key takeaways

Progress M-04M belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Progress M-04M to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Progress M-04M from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Progress M-04M (Russian: Прогресс М-04М), identified by NASA as Progress 36P, was a Russian Progress spacecraft launched in February 2010 to resupply the International Space Station. It was docked with the aft port of the Zvezda module of the station.

Launch Progress M-04M was launched by a Soyuz-U carrier rocket, flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The launch occurred at 03:45 UTC on 3 February 2010.

Docking After just over three days of free flight, Progress M-04M docked with the Zvezda module of the International Space Station at 04:26 UTC on 5 February 2010. Its docking marked the first time four Russian spacecraft had been docked to the station at the same time, joining the Soyuz TMA-16, Soyuz TMA-17 and Progress M-03M spacecraft already docked. It remained docked until 10 May 2010, when it departed, allowing Soyuz TMA-17 to be moved to the Zvezda aft port to clear the way for the arrival of the Rassvet module, to be delivered by Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-132 later that month.

Cargo The Progress M-04M spacecraft delivered 2,686 kilograms (5,922 lb) of cargo to the ISS. This included water to be used by systems in the Russian segment of the station, propellant to refuel the station and to perform orbital manoeuvres, food and medical supplies.

Undocking

Progress M-04M undocked from the ISS on 10 May 2010. On 7 May 2010, Russian Space Agency's Mission Control announced that the ISS crew had loaded Progress M-04M with garbage and readied the spacecraft for undocking. The command for undocking was issued at 11:13 UTC, and three minutes later Progress M-04M separated from the Zvezda module. Cosmonauts Aleksandr Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko monitored the undocking with photo and video cameras focusing on the Progress docking mechanism to confirm that there were no missing or damaged O-ring seals on the docking interface.

Deorbited The spacecraft stayed in autonomous flight for 60 days after undocking, taking part in the Reflection geophysical experiment to study reflective characteristics of the freighter's hull and the transparency of the Earth's atmosphere. Progress M-04M was deorbited on 1 July 2010 over the Pacific Ocean. The deorbit burn began at 13:54 UTC and at about 14:40, the remaining parts of the spacecraft which had not burnt during the reentry, fell down in the south area of the Pacific Ocean, 37°47′ South, and 235°09′ West.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Progress M-04M

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Progress M-04M claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Progress M-04M before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Progress M-04M ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Progress M-04M

In research: Progress M-04M appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Progress M-04M in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Progress M-04M is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Progress (spacecraft) missions, Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-U rockets, Spacecraft launched in 2010, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Progress M-04M outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Progress M-04M in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Progress M-04M means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Progress M-04M out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Progress M-04M in simple terms?

Why does Progress M-04M matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Progress M-04M?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Progress M-04M.