Progress M-16M

Progress M-16M

File:Progress M-16M and Tropical Storm Leslie.jpg Progress M-16M atop Hurricane Leslie
Mission type	ISS resupply
Operator	Roskosmos
COSPAR ID	2012-042A
SATCAT №	38738
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Progress-M 11F615A60
Manufacturer	RKK Energia
Start of mission
Launch date	1 August 2012, 19:35:13 (2012-08-01UTC19:35:13Z) UTC
Rocket	Soyuz-U
Launch site	Baikonur Site 1/5
End of mission
Disposal	Deorbited
Decay date	9 February 2013, 17:05 (2013-02-09UTC17:06Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Inclination	51.6 degrees
Docking with ISS
Docking port	Pirs
Docking date	2 August 2012, 01:18 UTC
Undocking date	9 February 2013, 13:16 UTC
Time docked	191 days, 11 hours, 57 minutes

Progress M-16M (Russian: Прогресс М-16М), identified by NASA as Progress 48 or 48P, is a Progress spacecraft used by Roskosmos to resupply the International Space Station during 2012. The sixteenth Progress-M 11F615A60 spacecraft, it has the serial number 416 and was built by RKK Energia.

It was the 126th launch to the ISS and the fifteenth Russian space launch in 2012. It was also the seventh mission for the Soyuz family of rockets since the beginning of the year.

Launch

The spacecraft was launched on time at 19:35:13 GMT from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Ten minutes after liftoff, the Soyuz-U Rocket carrying Progress M-16M successfully delivered the spacecraft to orbit to begin its International Space Station (ISS) Resupply Mission.

Docking

Progress M-16M debuted the use of a fast approach rendezvous profile that saw the spacecraft docking on its fourth orbit, as opposed to docking about 50 hours after launch on previous Progress flights. This profile allows the transportation of critical biological payloads to the ISS. After testing on Progress flights, the same rendezvous profile is being used on manned Soyuz flights to reduce crew fatigue.

Undocking and decay

Progress M-16M departed the Pirs Docking Compartment at 13:15:27 GMT on February 9, 2013 performing a nominal undocking to begin a very short free flight.

Cargo

Progress M-16M was packed with 1397 kilograms of equipment, food, clothing, life support system gear ("dry" cargo), 680 kilograms of propellant to replenish reservoirs that feed the Russian maneuvering thrusters, 420 kilograms of water and 47 kilograms of oxygen and air.