Roskosmos launches European Robotic Arm and Nauka module to ISS – IT Pro – News

On Wednesday afternoon at 4.58 pm Dutch time, space agency Roskosmos will launch a new research laboratory to the international space station ISS. Part of this is the European Robotic Arm, made in the Netherlands.

The Nauka module and the ERA will be launched from the Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Russian Proton-M rocket. The launch will be via a live stream of Roskosmos broadcast and can also be followed via NASA TV.

If everything goes according to plan, the fairing containing the Nauka module disconnected from the launcher. After 9 minutes and 44 seconds, the Nauka is disconnected and enters orbit at an altitude of 196 km. It then takes about eight days for the module to reach the International Space Station, at an altitude of about 400 km.

When the Nauka module is docked to the ISS, the ERA will be used to assemble the new Russian laboratory. After that, the arm will be used to perform various tasks that are now done by astronauts. Unique to the arm is that astronauts can also operate it from outside the ISS, with an external control panel.

Tweakers wrote a background article about the European robotic arm, which is largely developed and paid for by the Netherlands. The idea for the ERA originated in 1985, but the plans for the robot arm were changed and postponed several times.

Update, 5:09 PM: The Nauka module and ERA have been successfully launched and launched into orbit on schedule.

–