Progress M-13M
Progress M-13M approaches the ISS on November 2, 2011
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| Mission type | ISS resupply |
|---|---|
| Operator | Roskosmos |
| COSPAR ID | 2011-062A |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Progress-M 11F615A60 |
| Manufacturer | RKK Energia |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 30 October 2011, 10:11 UTC |
| Rocket | Soyuz-U |
| Launch site | Baikonur Site 1/5 |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Deorbited |
| Decay date | 25 January 2012 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Inclination | 51.6 degrees |
| Docking with ISS | |
| Docking port | Pirs |
| Docking date | 2 November 2011, 11:41 UTC |
| Undocking date | 23 January 2012, 22:10 UTC |
| Time docked | 82 days |
| Cargo | |
| Mass | 2,648 kilograms (5,838 lb) |
Progress M-13M (Russian: Прогресс М-13М), identified by NASA as Progress 45 or 45P, is a Progress spacecraft which reached the International Space Station (ISS) on 2 November 2011. The Progress M-13M spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:11 GMT on 30 October, starting off the 45th unmanned Russian space station resupply mission. The spacecraft was manufactured by RKK Energia, and is operated by the Russian Federal Space Agency. The Soyuz-U rocket carrying the cargo ship functioned nominally as advertised. Approximately nine minutes into the launch, Progress M-13M reached its planned preliminary orbit.
The launch of the Progress M-13M spacecraft occurred at 10:11 GMT on 30 October 2011. The launch was the first successful Soyuz booster flight to the Space Station since the 24 August 2011 failure of the Soyuz-U booster carrying the Progress M-12M cargo ship. The temperature on the launch day was 39 °F (4 °C). Approximately nine minutes following the liftoff, the Progress M-13M spacecraft successfully reached orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigation antennas. The spacecraft was inserted into a parking low-Earth orbit with 51.65 deg. inclination, 192.98 km minimal altitude, 252.9 km maximum altitude, 88.66 minutes orbital period.
The Progress M-13M rendezvoused with and dock to the ISS at the Nadir port of the Pirs Docking Compartment 2 November 2011 at 11:41 GMT. The spacecraft followed an unusual three days of free flight instead of the usual two. The Pirs Nadir port was vacated by the Progress M-10M spacecraft on 29 October 2011, which undocked at 9:04 GMT.
After arriving to the vicinity of the ISS, Progress M-13M began a flyaround maneuver to get lined up with the docking port. It then executed a roll maneuver to properly orient its forward nose probe with the Pirs Docking Compartment. A momentary station keeping hold with about 620 feet (190 m) between the two spacecraft allowed Russian flight controllers at the Moscow Mission Control to check the systems before issuing the approval to begin the 11-minute final approach to the ISS. The automated docking system of the Progress M-13M operated flawlessly and the linkup of Progress M-13M to the Space Station's Pirs docking port occurred just before an orbital sunset while the two spacecraft were orbiting 247 miles (398 km) above northern China.
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