![Progress M-13M docking](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Progress_M-13M_docking.jpg)
Kurs (Ukrainian and russian: Курс, lit=Course) is a
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
control system (type tomahook, etc.) used by the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and later
Russian space program
The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...
.
"Kurs" was developed by the Research Institute of Precision Instruments (russian: НИИ Точных Приборов, translit=NII Tochnikh Priborov), Moscow, Legostaew, before 1985 and manufactured by the Kiev Radio Factory ( uk, Київський Радіозавод, translit=Kyyivskyy Radiozavod).
History
Kurs was the successor to the
Igla system and today provides navigation beaconing for Russian space vehicles including the
Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz () is a series of spacecraft which has been in service since the 1960s, having made more than 140 flights. It was designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolev Design Bureau (now Energia). The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraf ...
and
Progress spacecraft
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 ...
. The main difference between both systems is that Igla requires the space station to collaborate in the docking maneuver by reorienting itself to point the docking port to the spacecraft, while Kurs allows to dock with a fully stationary space station. The main reason for this change was that Mir was to be a much bigger space station than the older Salyut, so the propellant consumption would be excessive. Kurs provided the automated docking system for all Russian spacecraft that docked with the ''
Mir
''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
'' space station. When used for docking, the Soyuz or Progress vehicle broadcasts radar pulses from multiple antennas. The variation in strength between the antennas allows the system to compute relative position, attitude, and approach rate. The system is designed for automatic rendezvous and docking, but in an emergency cosmonauts may take command of the vehicle, either locally or from the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Kurs system became the property of
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
; its manufacturer became a competitor in the space launch business with the
Russian Federal Space Agency
The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...
(RKA). Due to hard-currency problems, Kiev also raised the price of the Kurs system. Consequently, RKA sought to phase out its use in its vehicles.
[
] A test using the Russian
TORU TORU or Toru may refer to:
*TORU, spacecraft system
*Toru (given name), Japanese male given name
*Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
*Tõru
Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western Est ...
backup system to reduce reliance on Kurs, was responsible for the collision between ''
Mir
''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
'' and
Progress M-34
Progress M-34 (russian: Прогресс М-34, italic=yes) was a Russian uncrewed cargo spacecraft which was launched in 1997 to resupply the Mir space station, and which subsequently collided with Mir during a docking attempt, resulting in signi ...
and the damage to the
Spektr
Spektr (russian: Спектр; en, Spectrum) (TKM-O, 77KSO, 11F77O) was the fifth module of the Mir Space Station. The module was designed for remote observation of Earth's environment containing atmospheric and surface research equipment. Sp ...
module, nearly causing ''Mir'' to be abandoned. After the collision and recovery, the next Progress ship had a failure of Kurs, and was docked successfully using the same TORU system.
[NASA-5 Mike Foale: Collision and Recovery](_blank)
/ref>
Kurs-NA
The Kurs-NA (russian: Новая Активная, Novaya Aktivnaya, New Active) docking system, requiring only one rendezvous antenna and using less power, replaces Kurs-A, which required five antennas. It was tested by Progress M-15M
Progress M-15M (russian: Прогресс М-15М, italic=yes), identified by NASA as Progress 47P, is a Progress spacecraft used by Roskosmos to resupply the International Space Station during 2012. The fifteenth Progress-M 11F615A60 spacecraft ...
in July 2012[ and by ]Progress M-21M
Progress M-21M (russian: Прогресс М-21М, italic=yes), identified by NASA as Progress 53P, was a Progress spacecraft used by Roskosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) during 2013. Progress M-21M was built by RKK Ener ...
in November 2013. It is used on the Progress MS (2015-present).
ISS
ATV
The now Russian-built antenna part of the Kurs system also served as an independent and redundant docking monitoring system for the European Automated Transfer Vehicle
The Automated Transfer Vehicle, originally Ariane Transfer Vehicle or ATV, was an expendable cargo spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), used for space cargo transport in 2008–2015. The ATV design was launched to orbit fiv ...
. It served as an additional monitoring system and could not be used to control the approach or docking of the ATV.
Failures
# On 18 November 2000 during the docking of Progress M1-4
Progress M1-4, identified by NASA as Progress 2P, was a Progress spacecraft used to resupply the International Space Station. It was a Progress M1 11F615A55 spacecraft, with the serial number 253.
Launch and first docking
Progress M1-4 was lau ...
with the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
the Kurs system failed requiring a manual docking approach by Soyuz commander Yuri Gidzenko
Yuri Pavlovich Gidzenko (russian: link=no, Юрий Павлович Гидзенко; born March 26, 1962) is a Russian cosmonaut. He was a test cosmonaut of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (TsPK). Gidzenko has flown into space thre ...
. The failure was due to a software glitch that prevented the ship's computer system from smoothly switching from guidance data transmitted by antennas on the Zvezda module to signals transmitted from Zarya. A later redocking had to be done manually, also by Gidzenko, as an antenna required for the final approach was irreversibly retracted during the initial approach.
# Immediately after launch of Progress M-01M
Progress M-01M (russian: Прогресс М-01М, italic=yes), identified by NASA as Progress 31P, was a Progress (spacecraft), Progress spacecraft used to resupply the International Space Station. It was the first flight of the Progress-M 11F61 ...
on 26 November 2008, a Kurs antenna failed to deploy. The antenna was successfully deployed about three hours later after flight controllers resent the deployment command, however the spacecraft was docked to the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
using the TORU TORU or Toru may refer to:
*TORU, spacecraft system
*Toru (given name), Japanese male given name
*Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
*Tõru
Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western Est ...
system, controlled by Cosmonaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
Yury Lonchakov
Yury Valentinovich Lonchakov (russian: link=no, Юрий Валентинович Лончаков; born 4 March 1965) is a Russian former cosmonaut and a veteran of three space missions. He has spent 200 days in space and has conducted two space ...
, as a precaution.
# On 29 July 2009 Progress M-67
Progress M-67 (russian: Прогресс М-67, italic=yes) was a Progress spacecraft which was used for the Progress 34P flight to resupply the International Space Station. It was a Progress-M 11F615A55 spacecraft, with the serial number 367. ...
was on approach to the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
in an incorrect orientation. The Kurs system was deactivated, and Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka
Gennady Ivanovich Padalka (russian: Гeннадий Иванович Падалка; born 21 June 1958 in Krasnodar, Soviet Union) is a Russian Air Force officer and a Roscosmos cosmonaut. Padalka currently holds the world record for List of spac ...
performed a manual docking using the TORU TORU or Toru may refer to:
*TORU, spacecraft system
*Toru (given name), Japanese male given name
*Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
*Tõru
Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western Est ...
system.
# On 1 May 2010 Progress M-05M
Progress M-05M (russian: Прогресс М-05М, italic=yes), identified by NASA as Progress 37P, is a Progress spacecraft launched by the Russian Federal Space Agency in April 2010 to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). The spacec ...
was about 1 kilometer away from the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
when its Kurs system failed. Oleg Kotov
Oleg Valeriyevich Kotov (russian: Олег Валериевич Котов) was born on 27 October 1965 in Simferopol, Crimean oblast in the Ukrainian SSR. After a career as a physician assigned to the Soviet space program, he joined the Russian ...
used the backup TORU TORU or Toru may refer to:
*TORU, spacecraft system
*Toru (given name), Japanese male given name
*Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
*Tõru
Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western Est ...
system to manually control the rendezvous and docking, setting a record for the furthest distance a Progress spacecraft was flown under manual control.
# On 15 December 2015 during the docking of Soyuz TMA-19M
Soyuz TMA-19M was a 2015 Russian Soyuz (spacecraft), Soyuz spaceflight to the International Space Station. It was launched on December 15, 2015 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, transporting three members of the Expedition 46 crew to the International Sp ...
with the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
the Kurs system mis-aligned the spacecraft and failed to dock, requiring a manual docking approach piloted by Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko
Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko (russian: Юрий Иванович Маленченко; born December 22, 1961) is a retired Russian cosmonaut. Malenchenko became the first person to marry in space, on 10 August 2003, when he married Ekaterina Dmit ...
. This delayed the docking by 10 minutes.
# On 24 August 2019 during the docking of the uncrewed Soyuz MS-14
Soyuz MS-14 was a Soyuz spaceflight to the International Space Station. It carried no crew members, as it was intended to test a modification of the launch abort system for integration with the Soyuz-2.1a launch vehicle. It launched successfully ...
with the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
the spacecraft failed to lock on to the Poisk Module port due to a failure in a Kurs signal amplifier on the ''Poisk'' module and failed to dock. Since the backup TORU TORU or Toru may refer to:
*TORU, spacecraft system
*Toru (given name), Japanese male given name
*Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
*Tõru
Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western Est ...
system was not installed on the vehicle, the docking attempt was aborted. It was decided that Soyuz MS-13
Soyuz MS-13, also designated ISS flight 59S, was a crewed Soyuz mission launched on 20 July 2019 – the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing – carrying three members of the Expedition 60 crew to the International Space Station: a Rus ...
would be manually relocated onto the faulty Poisk port, freeing up the Zvezda aft port for Soyuz MS-14 to dock there successfully three days later on 27 August.
# On 17 February 2021 during final approach Progress MS-16
Progress MS-16 (), Russian production No. 445, identified by NASA as Progress 77P, was a Progress (spacecraft), Progress spaceflight operated by Roscosmos to resupply the International Space Station (ISS). This was the 168th flight of a Progres ...
suffered a communication issue 20m from the station. Kurs was deactivated and Sergey Ryzhikov took manual control with the TORU TORU or Toru may refer to:
*TORU, spacecraft system
*Toru (given name), Japanese male given name
*Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
*Tõru
Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western Est ...
system and docked successfully.
# On 5 October 2021 during the docking of Soyuz MS-19
Soyuz MS-19 was a Soyuz spaceflight which launched on 5 October 2021, at 08:55:02 UTC. It was the 147th flight of a crewed Soyuz spacecraft. The launching crew consisted of Russian commander Anton Shkaplerov, Russian film director Klim Shipenk ...
there was a malfunction of the Kurs system on the Rassvet port, requiring the Soyuz spacecraft commander Anton Shkaplerov
Anton Nikolaevich Shkaplerov (russian: Антон Николаевич Шкаплеров; born 20 February 1972) is a Russian cosmonaut. He is a veteran of four spaceflights.
Personal life
Shkaplerov is married to Tatyana Petrovna, and they ...
to take control and dock manually.
As of May 2022, there have been 83 successful dockings to the International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
performed by Kurs with Soyuz & Progress vehicles, and the Nauka station module, giving Kurs a 90.4% success rate.
See also
* TriDAR TriDAR, or Triangulation and LIDAR Automated Rendezvous and Docking, is a relative navigation vision system developed by Neptec Design Group and funded by the Canadian Space Agency and NASA. It provides guidance information that can be used to gui ...
, a relative navigation vision system used on three Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
flights to the ISS
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (J ...
References
{{reflist, 2
Spacecraft docking systems
Space program of the Soviet Union