MOSCOW. Oct 22 (Interfax) - The Progress MS-17 resupply ship, which undocked from the Poisk module on board the International Space Station (ISS) at 2:42 a.m. Moscow time on Thursday, has successfully docked at the Nauka module, according to a Roscosmos live stream.
The Progress MS-17 docked at the Nauka module at 7:21 a.m. Moscow time, using the Kurs automated rendezvous system, according to the broadcast.
Its flight lasted for about 29 hours, during which the spaceship performed a series of correction maneuvers, moving up to 185 kilometers away from the ISS.
This operation is intended to help prepare the Nauka module for the arrival of the new nodal module Prichal at the ISS.
"The docking port of the Nauka module currently accommodates a specialized adapter (adapter ring) that allows Russian Soyuz MS and Progress MS spaceships to dock. The Progress MS-17 will take it away as it undocks from the station for good. After such a two-stage check, the Prichal module, due to launch in late November of this year, will dock at the docking port," Roscosmos said.
The Progress M-UM carrying the Prichal module is expected to be sent to the ISS aboard the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle on November 24. The Prichal will dock at the Nauka multi-function laboratory module, while its main mission will be to additionally expand the Russian segment's capacity through the presence of multiple docking ports.