Possible Technologies of Progress Transport Cargo Vehicle Control during Experiments in Free Flight

The International Space Station (ISS) project involves Russian Progress transport cargo vehicles (TCV) which often retain residual resources of their basic systems after they have completed their main tasks in the ISS program. Utilization of these resources for research purposes during free flight of the TCV after undocking from the station increases the efficiency of both the TCV operation and the ISS research program as a whole. Transport cargo vehicles can be used for research in various fields: in-flight tests, trials, validation and certification of various equipment, materials, and systems to the benefit of other spacecraft programs; conducting experiments within the framework of the Earth study using additional equipment; microgravity experiments taking into account specific capabilities of TCV; launch of small satellites and explorers after TCV undocking from the station and settling into specified orbit, etc. To perform research using the Progress transport cargo vehicles, new efficient technologies are proposed. These technologies required some specific methods of control to be developed. This paper addresses these technologies, as well as some of the developed control methods.