Humanity flew into space in the last century. During this time, space technology made a powerful leap. But if the astronauts are on board the orbital stations for a long time, then there is a need for space cargo transportation, and such a cargo flow should be regular. One of the simplest solutions to this problem was the development of special vehicles. On the basis of the Soyuz spacecraft, which is under the control of pilots, scientists created a cargo space vehicle.
How did the idea of creating a cargo ship (GK) come about?
The purpose of the organization of cargo flow is to increase the period of active existence of the orbital station. The capabilities of the Soyuz manned spacecraft in terms of the capacity of the necessary equipment with consumables, which were required for life support and the full operation of the station and crew, were limited. Therefore, a special ship "Progress" was developed with maximum use. spacecraft (spacecraft) "Soyuz", well-established in terms of automatic flight.
Parameters
The importance of creating a cargo ship was not even discussed. The question was what he should be like.
Its dimensions, materials that must be used to create it, and the equipment necessary for this were discussed. All these questions were very controversial, and some remain so until now. The parameters that the Progress ship had to have had to be adjusted to the requirements of the cargo and the amount of equipment on board. The developers disagreed about the manned and unmanned versions of the ship.
In the first case, the ability to return some materials or equipment to the ground was indicated as the main advantage. In the second option, cost-effectiveness was an advantage: all materials with the results of the research had to be returned with the crew. Cost-effective ship was a priority.
Design
Elements of the Progress ship were to be designed in such a way as to create as less noise for antennas, sensors and solar panels. In addition, obsolete equipment needed to be replaced. Moreover, it was necessary to do this as soon as possible. Cargo delivery time had to be minimized, as well as unforeseen situations. The operation of the control system, orientation and corrective installation had to be adjusted so that they would ensure that maneuvers with the orbital station were conducted at the proper level.
According to calculations, the optimal dimensions and mass of the Progress cargo ship were as close as possible to the Soyuz spacecraft parameters. This greatly simplified the work, as it became possible to fully use the instruments, assemblies and structural elements of this ship. It was decided that the equipment and materials that will be delivered to the station will be placed in a special cargo compartment. It is airtight and equipped with a docking unit with a hatch for entering the compartment itself. In the instrument part of the ship are airborne systems.
Compartments
In the non-pressurized compartment, which also has the Progress transport ship, pneumatic hydraulic systems were installed. Thus, fuel vapors were prevented from entering the residential unit. If a compressed gas leak occurred, the pressure inside the sealed compartments should not exceed the norm.
The compartment with the units of the propulsion system and the installations: orientational, converging and corrective were also made leaky.
First samples
The designers took into account such moments as the launch mass that the Progress transport ship has, its maximum dimensions with the antennas folded, and the latter should not exceed the size similar to those in the Soyuz spacecraft. This would make it possible to use a launch rocket for launching it , which launches spacecraft into orbit.
As a result, the first flight samples were developed. Work on design documentation, diagrams and operational documents was carried out from 1974 to 1976. The preliminary design was completed in February 1974, and the first flight prototype was tested in 1977 after completion of its development in February. For the first time, a cargo ship was put into orbit on January 20, 1978.
Initially, Progress, a spacecraft for transporting goods, was created in duplicate. Later, the government ordered another 50 pieces.
During the period from 1978 to 1994, cargo ships of the Progress type were repeatedly used for experiments. Among the major studies was the creation of a prototype of a radar space system for detecting surface and underwater objects, as well as large-sized frame radio antennas, equipment with optics for space communications, and sunlight reflectors from space. The Gamma module, a special automatic astrophysical apparatus, was later created on the basis of the Civil Code.
results
Operational experience has shown that the first spacecraft Progress M and Progress were able to constantly provide the orbital stations with the necessary equipment and materials for their long and fruitful work in orbit. Until 1985, they were the only automatic devices.
The cargo ship was created mainly on the basis of the design of the Soyuz spacecraft. Nevertheless, it was distinguished by qualitative characteristics, so it could solve important problems that were not available to other devices.
After a lengthy test of airborne and flight systems, the modifications of the Progress ship confirmed their high reliability. As a result, 27 cargo spacecraft completed the main flight program.
In addition, the cargo ship has become an effective base for all kinds of research and the creation of target modules of the most varied complexity.
On the basis of one of the modifications, the new Progress M-2 GC was designed for an international orbital station. It became possible to create larger transport cargo ships using other launch vehicles, such as Zenith.
Moreover, it became realistically to carry out complex maneuvers, research, to master new technologies for waste disposal. And all this thanks to the creation of a multi-purpose automatic cargo ship.