science

Soyuz MS-14

Soyuz MS-14 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 Soyuz MS-14 rather than just read about it. In short: Soyuz MS-14 was a Soyuz spaceflight to the International Space Station. It carried no crew members, as it was intended to test a modification of the launch abort system for integration with the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle.

Key takeaways

Soyuz MS-14 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Soyuz MS-14 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Soyuz MS-14 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Soyuz MS-14 was a Soyuz spaceflight to the International Space Station. It carried no crew members, as it was intended to test a modification of the launch abort system for integration with the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle. It launched successfully on 22 August 2019 at 03:38 UTC. It was the first mission of the Soyuz crew vehicle without a crew in 33 years, and the first-ever unpiloted mission of Soyuz to the ISS.

Overview Unlike the traditional Soyuz-FG launcher, which is turned on its launchpad to set azimuth of its flight, Soyuz-2 performs a roll maneuver during its flight to change direction. The maneuver would trigger the analog launch abort system designed for Soyuz-FG. Soyuz MS-14 tested a solution for this issue. The 14th flight of Soyuz MS is the 143rd flight of a Soyuz spacecraft. If all goes well, future crewed missions will use the new configuration starting with Soyuz MS-16 in early 2020. Besides testing the integration of the new launcher and the abort system Soyuz MS-14 is also testing an upgraded navigation and propulsion control system. The results of the testing will be used in the design of Soyuz GVK, an uncrewed cargo delivery and return spacecraft, tentatively scheduled to be launched for the first time in 2022. Unlike preceding and future Soyuz MS spacecraft, Soyuz MS-14 lacks various crew support systems. The spacecraft carried cargo to the International Space Station, among other things a humanoid robot Fedor that travelled in the crew compartment of the Soyuz (which was available to use as the mission had no crew). The Fedor robot returned to Earth on 6 September 2019 in the landing crew capsule of Soyuz MS-14 (which was again uncrewed). According to NASA, 1,450 pounds (660 kg) of cargo were delivered to ISS. The spacecraft delivered the Mini-EUSO telescope to the ISS.

Aftermath In August 2021, the descent module was handed over to Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works for placement in a museum.

Docking

First attempt Following a flawless two-day-long free flight and rendezvous with the ISS, MS-14 was scheduled to dock with the station's Poisk module at 05:30 UTC on 24 August 2019. During the final phases of the spacecraft's approach to the ISS, its Kurs rendezvous system failed to lock onto the station, and the spacecraft was not able to dock. Expedition 60 commander Aleksey Ovchinin commanded MS-14 to abort its docking, after which the spacecraft backed away to a safe distance from the ISS. Whereas most unmanned Russian spacecraft flying to ISS also feature a TORU backup system enabling cosmonauts to take manual control of the spacecraft from the ISS, this system was not fitted to MS-14. The fault was located on the Kurs signal amplifier on ISS's Poisk docking module, and initial plans called for the cosmonauts to replace this amplifier ahead of a new docking attempt. It was subsequently decided that, on 26 August, the crew of Soyuz MS-13 would relocate their spacecraft from the aft port on the Zvezda module to perform a manual docking at the faulty Poisk port, freeing up a port for MS-14 to dock using Kurs on 27 August 2019.

Second attempt After trailing the ISS for several days at a distance of over 160 miles, Soyuz MS-14 successfully docked autonomously to the Zvezda aft port on 27 August 2019 at 03:08 UTC.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Soyuz MS-14

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Soyuz MS-14 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 Soyuz MS-14 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 Soyuz MS-14 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 Soyuz MS-14

In research: Soyuz MS-14 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 Soyuz MS-14 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: Soyuz MS-14 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2019 in Russia, Soyuz uncrewed test flights, Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-2 rockets, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Soyuz MS-14 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 Soyuz MS-14 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Soyuz MS-14 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 Soyuz MS-14 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Soyuz MS-14 in simple terms?

Why does Soyuz MS-14 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 Soyuz MS-14?

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 Soyuz MS-14.