RSC Energia: Council of chief designers

RSC Energia: Council of chief designers

November 7, 2018

On Tuesday, November 6, RSC Energia (which is included in State Corporation Roscosmos) held a session of the Council of Chief Designers for the Russian Segment (RS) of the International Space Station (ISS).

The Council of Chief Designers reviewed the launch readiness of a Crew Transportation Spacecraft (CTS) belonging to the Soyuz MS series and launch vehicle Soyuz-FG. Also discussed was the readiness of the ISS, of the launch and range facilities, equipment and personnel of LOCT and MCC, search and rescue vehicles, crew medical support, and of the Expedition crews for the upcoming work.

The head of the RSC Energia Project Management Office Igor Konstandi told about the steps taken to implement the program of the ISS space transportation support, about the progress of preparations for launch of the CTS Soyuz MS-11, and about the readiness of the systems of Soyuz MS-09 for completion of its mission.

RSC Energia first deputy general designer for flight operations and testing of rocket and space systems Vladimir Soloviev presented the ISS mission results and the status of its systems, and the results of scientific experiments and further work plans.

Vladimir Soloviev summed up preliminary results of the program of scientific and applied research of Expedition ISS-57. By the time it ends, 43 space experiments under the program of scientific and applied research (including joint experiments with NASA and ESA) will have been implemented, out of which 35 experiments involve crew participation.

Vladimir Soloviev reported that scheduled for December is a spacewalk from the ISS RS. The main objective of Sergei Prokopiev and Oleg Kononenko will be to inspect the outer surface of Soyuz MS-09. Scheduled for spring of 2019 is the EVA-46 session with participation of Oleg Kononenko and Oleg Skripochka.

First Deputy General Designer pointed out that the ISS RS resources are sufficient for completion of Expedition ISS-57 and for carrying out the program of ISS-58, and the ground facilities and mission control personnel are ready for the landing of Soyuz MS-09 and the launch of Soyuz MS-11.

Reports on the readiness of all the systems of Soyuz MS-11 and the ISS RS were made by chief designers, responsible representatives of RSC Energia and organizations involved in the ISS program.

A conclusion was reached that MCC-M assets and personnel were ready for the launch of CTS Soyuz MS-11; a report was made on the readiness of the search and rescue assets. A representative of the Institute for Bio-Medical Problems (IBMP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported on the health status of the crews that are currently working onboard the ISS and those that are undergoing training for their mission. A representative of the Cosmonaut Training Center confirmed that crews are ready for the program of upcoming activities onboard the ISS.

Based on the results of the session, the Council of Chief Designers approved the following RSC Energia proposals:

• on the plan of forthcoming work to prepare Soyuz MS-11 for launch on December 3, 2018;
• on delivering to the ISS the next expedition crew of three: Oleg Kononenko (Roscosmos, the spacecraft commander), David Saint-Jacques (CSA, flight engineer) and Anne McClain (NASA, flight engineer);
• taking into account the evaluated actual status of Soyuz MS-09 readiness for completion of work to return on December 20, 2018 the crew of three: Alexander Gerst (ESA), Serena Aunon-Chancellor (NASA) and Sergey Prokopyev (Roscosmos);
• taking into account its evaluated actual status, allow the ISS RS to proceed with the next phase of the ISS operation.

RSC Energia is the leader in the rocket and space industry, and the prime contractor for manned space systems. The Corporation conducts work on the development of unmanned space and rocket systems (launch vehicles and orbital transfer vehicles), and high-technology systems for various non-space applications.

State Corporation ROSCOSMOS is a State Corporation established in August of 2015 in order to conduct a comprehensive reform of the rocket and space industry in Russia. State Corporation Roscosmos assures implementation of the Government policies in the field of space activities and provides for them a legal and regulatory framework, as well as places orders for the development, production and delivery of space hardware and space infrastructure facilities. The functions of the State Corporation also include development of international cooperation in space, and creating conditions for using results of space activities in social and economic development of Russia.

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