Progress 2
Encyclopedia
Progress 2 was an unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 in 1978 to resupply the Salyut 6
Salyut 6
Salyut 6 , DOS-5, was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth flown as part of the Salyut programme. Launched on 29 September 1977 by a Proton rocket, the station was the first of the 'second-generation' type of space station. Salyut 6 possessed several revolutionary advances over the earlier...

 space station. It used the Progress 7K-TG
Progress 7K-TG
Progress 7K-TG , was a Soviet unmanned spacecraft used to resupply space stations in low Earth orbit. Forty three flew, delivering cargo to Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and Mir...

 configuration, and was the second Progress mission to Salyut 6. It carried supplies for the EO-2 crew aboard Salyut 6, as well as equipment for conducting scientific research, and fuel for adjusting the station's orbit and performing manoeuvres.

Spacecraft

Progress 2 was a Progress 7K-TG spacecraft. The second of forty three to be launched, it had the serial number
Serial number
A serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value...

 101. The Progress 7K-TG spacecraft was the first generation Progress, derived from the Soyuz 7K-T
Soyuz 7K-T
The second generation of the Soyuz spacecraft, the Soyuz Ferry or Soyuz 7K-T, comprised Soyuz 12 through Soyuz 40 . Although still using the Igla system, these had no solar panels, employing batteries...

 and intended for unmanned logistics missions to space stations in support of the Salyut programme. On some missions the spacecraft were also used to adjust the orbit of the space station.

The Progress spacecraft had a dry mass of 6520 kilograms (14,374.1 lb), which increased to around 7020 kilograms (15,476.5 lb) when fully fuelled. It measured 7.48 m (24.5 ft) in length, and 2.72 m (8.9 ft) in diameter. Each spacecraft could accommodate up to 2500 kg (5,511.6 lb) of payload, consisting of dry cargo and propellant. The spacecraft were powered by chemical batteries, and could operate in free flight for up to three days, remaining docked to the station for up to thirty.

Launch and docking

Progress 2 was launched at 11:26:16 UTC on 7 July 1978, atop a Soyuz-U
Soyuz-U
The Soyuz-U launch vehicle is an improved version of the original Soyuz LV. Soyuz-U is part of the R-7 family of rockets based on the R-7 Semyorka missile. Members of this rocket family were designed by the TsSKB design bureau and constructed at the Progress Factory in Samara, Russia....

 11A511U carrier rocket flying from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...

 in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. The rocket that launched it had the serial number
Serial number
A serial number is a unique number assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value...

 S15000-128. Following launch, Progress 2 was given the COSPAR designation 1978-070A, whilst NORAD assigned it the Satellite Catalog Number
Satellite Catalog Number
The Satellite Catalog Number is a sequential 5-digit number assigned by USSPACECOM to all Earth orbiting satellites in order of identification. Before USSPACECOM, the catalog was maintained by NORAD...

 10979.

Following launch, Progress 2 began two days of free flight. It subsequently docked with the aft port of the Salyut 6 space station at 12:58:59 UTC on 9 July. At the time of its docking, Soyuz 29
Soyuz 29
Soyuz 29 was a 1978 manned Soviet space mission to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the fifth mission, the fourth successful docking, and the second long-duration crew for the orbiting station...

 was docked to the forward port of the station. Soyuz 29 remained docked throughout the time Progress 2 was docked.

Mission

Progress 2 was the second of twelve Progress spacecraft used to supply the Salyut 6 space station between 1978 and 1981. It delivered cargo to the station, including Kristall a kiln
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...

 used for experiments aboard the outpost. Progress 2 also transferred 600 kilograms (1,322.8 lb) of propellant into Salyut 6's tanks. Whilst Progress 2 was docked, Salyut 6 was manned by the EO-2 crew, consisting of cosmonauts Vladimir Kovalyonok
Vladimir Kovalyonok
-Honours and awards:* Hero of the Soviet Union, twice * Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class * Order of Military Merit * Three Orders of Lenin...

 and Aleksandr Ivanchenkov
Aleksandr Ivanchenkov
Aleksandr Sergeyevich Ivanchenkov is a retired Soviet cosmonaut who flew as Flight Engineer on Soyuz 29 and Soyuz T-6, he spent 147 days, 12 hours and 37 minutes in space....

.

On 29 July 1978, whilst docked to Salyut 6, Progress 2 was catalogued in a low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...

 with a perigee
Apsis
An apsis , plural apsides , is the point of greatest or least distance of a body from one of the foci of its elliptical orbit. In modern celestial mechanics this focus is also the center of attraction, which is usually the center of mass of the system...

 of 327 km (176.6 nmi) and an apogee
Apsis
An apsis , plural apsides , is the point of greatest or least distance of a body from one of the foci of its elliptical orbit. In modern celestial mechanics this focus is also the center of attraction, which is usually the center of mass of the system...

 of 330 km (178.2 nmi), inclined
Inclination
Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...

 at 51.6 degrees and with a period
Orbital period
The orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete orbit about another object.When mentioned without further qualification in astronomy this refers to the sidereal period of an astronomical object, which is calculated with respect to the stars.There are several kinds of...

 of 91.1 minutes. Progress 2 undocked from Salyut 6 at 04:57:44 UTC on 2 August. It remained in orbit until the early morning of 4 August, when it was deorbited. The deorbit burn occurred at 01:31:07 UTC, with the spacecraft undergoing a destructive reentry at around 02:15. Less than four days after Progress 2 had been deorbited, Progress 3 was launched to replace it.

See also

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