Progress orbit parameters roughly meet target - source
MOSCOW. April 28 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Mission Control Center specialists verified orbit parameters of the Progress M-27M resupply ship while it was present in the radio visibility zone, a source in the Russian space industry told Interfax-AVN.
"According to updated information, the ship orbit parameters roughly meet the target. The orbit has a perigee of 193 kilometers, and an apogee of 280 kilometers, which is slightly (40 km) higher than the calculated one," the source said.
Commands are sent to the ship but there is no confirmation that they reach the Progress because telemetry data is still not available, the source said.
The specialists have used "indirect data" to draw the conclusion that the commands are reaching the Progress, he said.
"An analysis of parameters demonstrated that the ship failed to perform two automatic maneuvers stipulated by the flight sequence protocol during its first rotation around the Earth," the source continued. "It seems that automatic systems saw the contingency and canceled the maneuvers."
It is a primary objective of the Mission Control Center to establish lasting contact with the spaceship and to receive telemetry from it.
"Ship maneuvers and docking with the ISS will be impossible without that," the source pointed out.
