Launch procedure of microsatellites using Progress-M-type cargo transport vehicles

Small spacecraft are very important for solving scientific and applied tasks in near-Earth space. The International Space Station (ISS) program provided an opportunity to develop and implement new concepts of inserting microsatellites into orbit which can compete with the traditional method of delivering them into space aboard light-class launchers. Among the concepts there are micro- and nanosatellites launch by the Russian crewmembers of the ISS manually during their extravehicular activity, as well as injection into orbit in the automatic mode from board the ISS USOS when using an airlock and a robotic arm of the Kibo Module equipped with a special launching device for nanosatellites like CubeSat. The indicated concepts have special capabilities to carry out experiments, namely launch of microsatellite using as a launch platform for the Progress-M cargo transport vehicle which is as an important system element for the transport-technical support of the ISS flight. The launch is carried out in the autonomous flight phase of the vehicle upon completion of the main target task (cargo delivery to the Station). Only in this case microsatellite can be injected into the target orbit which does not necessarily have the same altitude as the ISS orbit. The microsatellite orbit parameters can change to the prescribed value at the expense of the propulsion system operation of the cargo vehicle onboard of which there is microsatellite. By this method the Chibis microsatellite was successfully launched into orbit of an altitude of about 500 km in 2012. This microsatellite was developed by the Institute of Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences and intended for remote investigation in a wide electromagnetic spectrum of physical processes in the upper atmosphere at lightning discharges using Groza science hardware set installed in it. Success of this responsible operation was provided by thorough preflight preparation for the experiment, during which a lot of labor-intensive computational and engineering problems were solved. These tasks included: development and manufacture of the microsatellite transporting and launching container; a cycle of “microsatellite-container” assembly ground tests; preparation of the microsatellite in the container for launch by the crew of the ISS Russian Segment; mathematical simulation, implementation of a safe ballistic scheme during the microsatellite separation from the cargo vehicle, etc. In this paper the methods used to solve the listed problems and the results obtained are analyzed. The space-proven methodology for launching microsatellites from cargo transport vehicles is presented. The hardware developed for these purposes is also described.