Progress MS-14 (), Russian production No.448, identified by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

as Progress 75P, was a

Progress Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension w ...

spaceflight operated by

Roscosmos The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...

to resupply the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...

(ISS). This was the 166th flight of a Progress spacecraft.

History

The

Progress-MS The Progress (russian: Прогресс) is a Russian expendable cargo spacecraft. Its purpose is to deliver the supplies needed to sustain a human presence in orbit. While it does not carry a crew, it can be boarded by astronauts when docked t ...

was an uncrewed freighter based on the

Progress-M Progress-M (russian: Прогресс-М, GRAU indices 11F615A55 and 11F615A60), 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, or ...

featuring improved avionics. This improved variant first launched on 21 December 2015. It has the following improvements: * New external compartment that enables it to deploy satellites. Each compartment can hold up to four launch containers. First time installed on

Progress MS-03 Progress MS-03 (), identified by NASA as Progress 64P, was a Progress spaceflight operated by Roscosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). It was the first Progress MS to have an external compartment for releasing satellites. ...

. * Enhanced redundancy thanks to the addition of a backup system of electrical motors for the docking and sealing mechanism. * Improved

Micrometeoroid A micrometeoroid is a tiny meteoroid: a small particle of rock in space, usually weighing less than a gram. A micrometeorite is such a particle that survives passage through Earth's atmosphere and reaches Earth's surface. The term "micrometeoro ...

(MMOD) protection with additional panels in the cargo compartment. * Luch Russian relay satellites link capabilities enable telemetry and control even when not in direct view of ground radio stations. *

GNSS A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location (longitude, latitude, and altitude/elevation) to high p ...

autonomous navigation enables real time determination of the status vector and orbital parameters dispensing with the need of ground station orbit determination. * Real time relative navigation thanks to direct radio data exchange capabilities with the space station. * New digital radio that enables enhanced TV camera view for the docking operations. * The

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

Chezara Kvant-V on board radio system and antenna/feeder system has been replaced with a Unified Command Telemetry System (UCTS). * Replacement of the Kurs A with Kurs NA digital system.

Spacecraft

This flight was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Victory: the

Ribbon of Saint George The ribbon of Saint George (also known as Saint George's ribbon, the Georgian ribbon; russian: Георгиевская ленточка, Georgiyevskaya lentochka; and the Guards ribbon in Soviet context: see Terminology for further information) ...

and the orders of the Second World War were put on board the Soyuz. In order to prevent the Progress MS-14 coronavirus from entering the station, it underwent additional disinfection before launch before being sent. First of all, disinfection of the internal surfaces and equipment, as well as the external surfaces of the goods delivered was carried out with the selection of control samples. After refueling the vessel and upgrading the equipment, additional disinfection was carried out to prevent the virus from entering the ISS.

Launch

The

Soyuz-2.1a Soyuz-2 (GRAU index 14A14) is a modernized version of the Soviet Soyuz rocket. In its basic form, it is a three-stage launch vehicle for placing payloads into low Earth orbit. Compared to the previous versions of the Soyuz, the first-stage bo ...

used to launch Progress MS-14, dubbed the "Victory Rocket" was decorated with the number "75" on its payload fairing to mark the 75th anniversary of the meeting of U.S. and Soviet troops on the

Elbe River The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repub ...

in Germany in the final days of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in Europe. The number has a double significance because the cargo mission is the 75th Progress resupply flight to the International Space Station since 2000. Progress MS-14 was launched at 01:51:41 UTC from Baikonur Site 31/6 on a fast-track trajectory. Following a nominal launch, Progress MS-14 docked with ''Zvezda'' on the ISS at 05:11:56 UTC.

Docking

3 hours and 20 minutes after launch, Progress MS-14 successfully docked automatically to the rear port of ''Zvezda'' at 05:11:56 UTC on 25 April 2020, where it remained until 27 April 2021.

Cargo

The Progress MS-14 spacecraft delivered 2528 kg of cargo, with 1358 kg of this being dry cargo. The following is a breakdown of cargo bound for the ISS: * Dry cargo: 1358 kg * Fuel: 700 kg * Oxygen: 50 kg * Water: 420 kg

Undocking and decay

After its mission was completed, Progress MS-14 undocked from the station on 27 April 2021 filled with disposable trash. It re-entered the

Earth's atmosphere The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

for destruction over the

South Pacific Ocean South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

at 00:42 UTC, on 29 April 2021.

References

{{Orbital launches in 2020 Progress (spacecraft) missions Spacecraft launched in 2020 2020 in Russia Supply vehicles for the International Space Station Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-2 rockets Spacecraft which reentered in 2021