Progress 2 () was an unmanned

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 wi ...

cargo spacecraft launched by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1978 to resupply the

Salyut 6 Salyut 6 (russian: Салют-6; lit. Salute 6), DOS-5, was a Soviet orbital space station, the eighth station of the Salyut programme. It was launched on 29 September 1977 by a Proton rocket. Salyut 6 was the first space station to receiv ...

space station. It used the

Progress 7K-TG Progress 7K-TG (russian: Прогресс 7К-ТГ, italic=yes, GRAU index 11F615A15), was a Soviet uncrewed spacecraft used to resupply space stations in low Earth orbit. Forty three flew, delivering cargo to Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and Mir. It was ...

configuration, and was the second Progress mission to Salyut 6. It carried supplies for the EO-2 crew aboard Salyut 6, as well as equipment for conducting scientific research, and fuel for adjusting the station's orbit and performing manoeuvres.

Spacecraft

Progress 2 was a Progress 7K-TG spacecraft. The second of forty three to be launched, it had the

serial number A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...

101. The Progress 7K-TG spacecraft was the first generation

, derived from the

Soyuz 7K-T The second generation of the Soyuz spacecraft, the ''Soyuz 7K-T'', comprised Soyuz 12 through Soyuz 40 (1973-1981). In the wake of the Soyuz 11 tragedy, the spacecraft was redesigned to accommodate two cosmonauts who would wear pressure suit ...

and intended for unmanned logistics missions to space stations in support of the

Salyut program The ''Salyut'' programme (russian: Салют, , meaning "salute" or "fireworks") was the first space station programme, undertaken by the Soviet Union. It involved a series of four crewed scientific research space stations and two crewed m ...

me. On some missions the spacecraft were also used to adjust the orbit of the space station. The Progress spacecraft had a dry mass of , which increased to around when fully fuelled. It measured in length, and in diameter. Each spacecraft could accommodate up to of payload, consisting of dry cargo and propellant. The spacecraft were powered by chemical batteries, and could operate in free flight for up to three days, remaining docked to the station for up to thirty.

Launch and docking

Progress 2 was launched at 11:26:16 UTC on 7 July 1978, atop a

Soyuz-U The Soyuz-U launch vehicle was an improved version of the original Soyuz rocket. Soyuz-U was part of the R-7 family of rockets based on the R-7 Semyorka missile. Members of this rocket family were designed by the TsSKB design bureau and cons ...

11A511U carrier rocket flying from Site 31/6 at the

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome ( kk, Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы, translit=Baiqoñyr ğaryş ailağy, ; russian: Космодром Байконур, translit=Kosmodrom Baykonur, ) is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to R ...

in the

Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic ; kk, Қазақ Советтік Социалистік Республикасы) *1991: Republic of Kazakhstan (russian: Республика Казахстан; kk, Қазақстан Республикасы) , linking_name = the ...

. The rocket that launched it had the

S15000-128. Following launch, Progress 2 was given the COSPAR designation 1978-070A, whilst

NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

assigned it the

Satellite Catalog Number The Satellite Catalog Number (SATCAT, also known as NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense) Catalog Number, NORAD ID, USSPACECOM object number or simply catalog number, among similar variants) is a sequential nine-digit number assigned by the Un ...

10979. Following launch, Progress 2 began two days of free flight. It subsequently docked with the aft port of the Salyut 6 space station at 12:58:59 UTC on 9 July. At the time of its docking,

Soyuz 29 Soyuz 29 (russian: Союз 29, ''Union 29'') was a 1978 crewed Soviet space mission to the Salyut 6 space station. It was the fifth mission, the fourth successful docking, and the second long-duration crew for the orbiting station. Commander Vla ...

was docked to the forward port of the station. Soyuz 29 remained docked throughout the time Progress 2 was docked.

Mission

Progress 2 was the second of twelve Progress spacecraft used to supply the Salyut 6 space station between 1978 and 1981. It delivered cargo to the station, including

Kristall The Kristall (russian: Кристалл, , Crystal) (77KST, TsM-T, 11F77T) module was the fourth module and the third major addition to ''Mir''. As with previous modules, its configuration was based on the 77K (TKS) module, and was originally na ...

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

used for experiments aboard the outpost. Progress 2 also transferred of propellant into Salyut 6's tanks. Whilst Progress 2 was docked, Salyut 6 was manned by the EO-2 crew, consisting of

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 ...

Vladimir Kovalyonok Vladimir Vasiliyevich Kovalyonok ( be, Уладзі́мір Васі́льевіч Кавалёнак; russian: Влади́мир Васи́льевич Ковалёнок; born 3 March 1942 in Beloye, Minsk Oblast, Belorussian SSR) is a retir ...

and

Aleksandr Ivanchenkov Aleksandr Sergeyevich Ivanchenkov (russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Иванче́нков; born 28 September 1940 ) is a retired Soviet cosmonaut who flew as Flight Engineer on Soyuz 29 and Soyuz T-6, he spent 147 days, 12 hou ...

. On 29 July 1978, whilst docked to Salyut 6, Progress 2 was catalogued in a

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

with a

perigee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

of and an

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

of ,

inclined Incline, inclined, inclining, or inclination may refer to: *Grade (slope), the tilt, steepness, or angle from horizontal of a topographic feature (hillside, meadow, etc.) or constructed element (road, railway, field, etc.) *Slope, the tilt, steepn ...

at 51.66° and with a

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

of 91.1 minutes. Progress 2 undocked from Salyut 6 at 04:57:44 UTC on 2 August. It remained in orbit until the early morning of 4 August 1978, when it was deorbited. The deorbit burn occurred at 01:31:07 UTC, with the spacecraft undergoing a destructive

reentry Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: ''uncontrolled entry'', such as the entr ...

at around 02:15 UTC. Less than four days after Progress 2 had been deorbited, Progress 3 was launched to replace it.

References

{{Orbital launches in 1978 1978 in the Soviet Union Progress (spacecraft) missions Spacecraft launched in 1978 Spacecraft which reentered in 1978 Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-U rockets

Spacecraft

Launch and docking

Mission

See also

References