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<\/p>\nRussia\u2019s Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) Nauka, meaning \u201cscience,\u201d has defied the odds to successfully dock to the ISS after a long and arduous journey dating back over 20 years and a problematic propulsion system after launch which had threatened the success of the mission. <\/p>\n
The docking was not without issue, with Russian cosmonauts noting that Nauka wasn\u2019t on the correct course less than an hour before docking; however, a retro burn quickly corrected the issue. After also troubleshooting an issue with the TORU manual docking system, Nauka successfully docked in automated fashion to the Zvezda service module\u2019s nadir port at 09:29 EDT \/ 13:29 UTC, marking the first major expansion to the Russian segment for over 20 years.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
UPDATE \u2014 July 29, 5:34 EDT \/ 21:34 UTC<\/p>\n
At 12:34 EDT \/ 16:34 UTC, the ISS\u2019s systems registered a divergence from the nominal attitude orientation. The station\u2019s gyros attempted to correct the attitude error but couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
At 12:42 EDT \/16:42 UTC, the ISS\u2019s attitude departure exceeded limits and a Loss of Attitude emergency was declared, giving NASA and the ISS top priority through the TDRS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite) communications network in geostationary orbit.<\/p>\n
At this time, the ISS was commanded to free-drift, the gyros were shutdown, and emergency control was handed to the Russian segment and the Zvezda service module. Zvezda likewise tried to correct the orientation of the Station, fighting against Nauka as the new module continued to fire its thrusters.<\/p>\n
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The ISS. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n
Over the next 45 minutes, Russian controllers attempted to cease the thruster firings from Nauka, which were occurring without command. During this event, the ISS attitude movement never exceeded 0.5 degree per second and the crew did not feel the event.<\/p>\n
Space Shuttle (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n according to Russian media reports, Nauka burned through its remaining fuel during this thruster event.<\/p>\n At 13:29 EDT \/ 17:29 UTC, with Nauka\u2019s thrusters no longer operating, Russian controllers were able to use Progress MS-17\u2019s thrusters to get the Station back in attitude control and returned to a stable orientation.<\/p>\n As a result of the need to evaluate the station, Starliner\u2019s OFT-2 mission, which was scheduled to launch on 30 July, has been postponed to no earlier than Tuesday, 3 August 2021 at 13:20:10 EDT \/ 17:20:10 UTC.<\/p>\n UPDATE \u2014 July 29, 1:53 EDT \/ 17:53 UTC<\/p>\n After successfully docking to the station, roughly three hours later at 12:45 EDT \/ 16:45 UTC after cosmonauts had opened Zvezda\u2019s hatch to Nauka, the new module suddenly began firing its thrusters without command.<\/p>\n This caused the ISS to leave its nominal orientation and end up 45 degrees out of alignment.<\/p>\n Immediately, Russian mission controllers detected the issue and Zvezda began firing its own thrusters to try and correct the issue. However, Nauka\u2019s thrusters kept firing erroneously, and the two modules were essentially fighting each other, with Nauka pushing the ISS out of alignment and Zvezda trying to but not being able to fully correct.<\/p>\n At this same time, NASA ordered the Station into free-drift to alleviate stress on the modular attach points across the outpost.<\/p>\n