Progress M-18
Encyclopedia
Progress M-18 was a Russia
n unmanned cargo spacecraft which was launched in 1993 to resupply the Mir
space station. The thirty-sixth of sixty four Progress spacecraft to visit Mir, it used the Progress-M
11F615A55 configuration, and had the serial number
218. It carried supplies including food, water and oxygen for the EO-13 crew aboard Mir, as well as equipment for conducting scientific research, and fuel for adjusting the station's orbit and performing manoeuvres.
Progress M-18 was launched at 06:41:47 GMT on 22 May 1993, atop a Soyuz-U2
carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5
at the Baikonur Cosmodrome
. It was the last Progress spacecraft to be launched on a Soyuz-U2. Following two days of free flight, it docked with the Forward port of Mir's core module
at 08:24:44 GMT on 24 May.
During the 40 days for which Progress M-18 was docked, Mir was in an orbit of around 388 by, inclined
at 51.6 degrees. Progress M-18 undocked from Mir at 15:58:16 GMT on 3 July; less than half an hour before Soyuz TM-17
docked with the port which it had vacated. It was deorbited around a day later, to a destructive reentry over the Pacific Ocean
. Before undocking, a VBK-Raduga
capsule launched aboard Progress M-17
had been installed on Progress M-18, and this separated once the deorbit burn was complete. The capsule landed successfully at 17:13 GMT.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n unmanned cargo spacecraft which was launched in 1993 to resupply the Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
space station. The thirty-sixth of sixty four Progress spacecraft to visit Mir, it used the Progress-M
Progress-M
Progress-M , also known as Progress 7K-TGM, is a Russian, previously Soviet spacecraft which is used to resupply space stations. It is a variant of the Progress spacecraft, originally built in the late 1980s as a modernised version of the Progress 7K-TG spacecraft, using new systems developed for...
11F615A55 configuration, and 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...
218. It carried supplies including food, water and oxygen for the EO-13 crew aboard Mir, as well as equipment for conducting scientific research, and fuel for adjusting the station's orbit and performing manoeuvres.
Progress M-18 was launched at 06:41:47 GMT on 22 May 1993, atop a Soyuz-U2
Soyuz-U2
The Soyuz-U2 was a Soviet, later Russian, carrier rocket. It was derived from the Soyuz-U, and a member of the R-7 family of rockets...
carrier rocket flying from Site 1/5
Gagarin's Start
Gagarin's Start is a launch site at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, used for the Soviet space program and now managed by the Russian Federal Space Agency....
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...
. It was the last Progress spacecraft to be launched on a Soyuz-U2. Following two days of free flight, it docked with the Forward port of Mir's core module
Mir Core Module
Mir , DOS-7, was the first module of the Soviet/Russian Mir space station complex, in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001. Generally referred to as either the core module or base block, the module was launched on 20 February 1986 on a Proton-K rocket from LC-200/39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome...
at 08:24:44 GMT on 24 May.
During the 40 days for which Progress M-18 was docked, Mir was in an orbit of around 388 by, 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. Progress M-18 undocked from Mir at 15:58:16 GMT on 3 July; less than half an hour before Soyuz TM-17
Soyuz TM-17
Soyuz TM-17 was a Russian mission to the space station Mir, launched on July 1, 1993. It lasted 196 days and 17 hours, making more than 3,000 orbits of the planet Earth.-Crew:-Mission highlights:...
docked with the port which it had vacated. It was deorbited around a day later, to a destructive reentry over the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. Before undocking, a VBK-Raduga
VBK-Raduga
The VBK-Raduga capsule is a reentry capsule that was used for returning materials to Earth's surface from the space station Mir. They were brought to Mir in the Progress-M cargo craft's dry cargo compartment...
capsule launched aboard Progress M-17
Progress M-17
Progress M-17 was a Russian unmanned cargo spacecraft which was launched in 1993 to resupply the Mir space station. The thirty-fifth of sixty four Progress spacecraft to visit Mir, it used the Progress-M 11F615A55 configuration, and had the serial number 217...
had been installed on Progress M-18, and this separated once the deorbit burn was complete. The capsule landed successfully at 17:13 GMT.