science

Progress MS-17

Progress MS-17 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 MS-17 rather than just read about it. In short: Progress MS-17 (Russian: Прогресс МC-17), Russian production No. 446, identified by NASA as Progress 78P, was a Progress spaceflight operated by Roscosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). This was the 169th flight of a Progress spacecraft.

Key takeaways

Progress MS-17 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 MS-17 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Progress MS-17 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Progress MS-17 (Russian: Прогресс МC-17), Russian production No. 446, identified by NASA as Progress 78P, was a Progress spaceflight operated by Roscosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). This was the 169th flight of a Progress spacecraft.

History The Progress-MS is a crew-less freighter based on the Progress-M featuring improved avionics. This improved variant was first launched on 21 December 2015. It has the following improvements:

The new external compartment enables it to deploy satellites. Each compartment can hold up to four launch containers. First time installed on Progress MS-03. Enhanced redundancy thanks to the addition of a backup system of electrical motors for the docking and sealing mechanism. Improved Micrometeoroid (MMOD) protection with additional panels in the cargo compartment. Luch Russian relay satellites link capabilities enable telemetry and control even when not in direct view of ground radio stations. GNSS autonomous navigation enables real-time determination of the status vector and orbital parameters dispensing with the need of ground station orbit determination. Real-time relative navigation thanks to direct radio data exchange capabilities with the space station. New digital radio that enables enhanced TV camera view for the docking operations. The Ukrainian Chezara Kvant-V on board radio system and antenna/feeder system has been replaced with a Unified Command Telemetry System (UCTS). Replacement of the KURS-A with KURS-NA digital system.

Launch and first docking A Soyuz-2.1a launched the Progress MS-17 to the ISS from Baikonur Site 31 on 29 June 2021. Progress MS-17 automatically docked to Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) of ISS on the Poisk zenith port, on 2 July 2021, where it remained until 21 October 2021 after which it was relocated to another Russian Orbital Segment port, the Nauka nadir.

Background and film project On 14 May 2021, the Interagency Committee approved the composition of the ISS main and alternate crews for the period 2021–2023. Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov (commander) and the crew of the film "The Challenge": actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko, will go to the ISS on the Soyuz MS-19. The drama is a joint project of Roscosmos, Channel One and the Yellow, Black and White studio. The alternates chosen after passing the medical committee are: New Drama Theater actress Alyona Mordovina, director Alexei Dudin and the commander Oleg Artemyev. Since 24 May 2021, the crew members have been training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. On 23 July 2021, the prime crew participated in a four-hour simulation inside a Soyuz replica while wearing the Sokol suit and on 28 July 2021, the back-up crew completed the same exercise. According to the commander, Oleg Artemyev, the performance of the two back-up Spaceflight Participants was outstanding. On 30 July 2021, the spacecraft had its pre-launch preparation started. On 31 August 2021, the medical committee announced that both the main and reserve crew were healthy for space flight. The filming equipment was launched by Progress MS-17. The director and actress returned to Earth on 17 October 2021 on Soyuz MS-18, with commander Oleg Novitskiy. Cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov and astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who arrived at the ISS on Soyuz MS-18, will join Shkaplerov on the landing of Soyuz MS-19. Soyuz MS-19 is scheduled to land on 28 March 2022.

Reactions The film, which according to Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, is an "experiment to see if Roscosmos can prepare two ordinary people to fly in about 3 or 4 months" has received opposition from the scientific and aerospace communities, as to the fact that they remove trained cosmonauts from their flights, a misuse of public money, or even that using the station's resources for non-scientific purposes would be illegal. Sergei Krikalev, director of crewed programs at Roscosmos, reportedly lost his position by speaking out against the project, but was reinstated after a few days following protests from cosmonauts on and off active duty.

Movie Klim Shipenko shot approximately 35–40 minutes of film on the ISS, in addition to serving as director, operator, art director, and makeup artist. Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov appear in the film, with Dubrov and Mark Vande Hei assisting in the production. Shkaplerov appears in some scenes of the movie.

Second docking On 3 February 2021, the State Commission for Testing of the Piloted Space Systems, chaired by Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin, approved the latest ISS schedule for 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. Due to the air leak discovered in the PrK chamber at the aft port of the Zvezda service module, Roscosmos moved the docking destination for the Progress MS-17 cargo ship to the Nauka module. After 110 days, Progress MS-17 was undocked on 20 October 2021, at 23:42 UTC. It spent 29 hours in autonomous flight, waiting for ballistic conditions for docking, and re-docked to the nadir (Earth-facing) port of Nauka on 22 October 2021, at 04:21:07 UTC. A long relocation was done since the Progress spacecraft cannot do the quick routine relocation as the Soyuz are capable of. Nor can they fly around the ISS, because it is made only to safely operate after the spacecraft had entered a narrow cone-shaped zone extending from the main axis of a destination port that is Nauka nadir in this case. So, Progress spacecraft are allowed to move away from the station before it would naturally be brought back into a close proximity with the station around a day later. This method is cheaper in fuel consumption, but to complete the rendezvous it has to depend on the on navigation signals it gets from GLONASS and GPS satellites and on the KURS-NA rendezvous system for the final approach to its relocated destination.

Expansion of Russian Orbital Segment

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Progress MS-17

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Progress MS-17 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 MS-17 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 MS-17 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 MS-17

In research: Progress MS-17 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 MS-17 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 MS-17 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2021 in Russia, Progress (spacecraft) missions, Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-2 rockets, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Progress MS-17 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 MS-17 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Progress MS-17 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 MS-17 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Progress MS-17 in simple terms?

Why does Progress MS-17 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 MS-17?

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 MS-17.