Module "Pirs"

Launch, orbit & landing data: Designation  A05160 / 01041 Launch date - time  14 Sep 2001 - 23:34:55 UT Launch site  Baikonur, LC1/5 Launch vehicle  Soyuz-U (11A511U n°677) OKB name - S/N°  SO-1 240GK N° 1L Launch Mass (kg)  4350 kg Docking date - time  17 Sep 2001 - 01:05 UT Target spacecraft/port  ISS/Zvezda nadir port Initial orbit:    - Perigee / Apogee  192 x 233 km    - Inclination  51.6°    - Period  88.5 min Undocking date - time  26 Jul 2021 - 10:55 UT Undocking Progress  Progress MS-16 Decay  26 July 2021 - 14:52 UT Flight duration

PIRS module

Specifications: Mass in orbit, kg  3580 kg Mass reserved for deliverable cargo, kg  800 kg Length (with docking units), mm  4910 Maximum diameter, mm  2550 Volume of the pressurized compartment, m3  13

PIRS module

Descriptions:

• Docking compartment Pirs consists of a pressurized hull carrying equipment, service systems and structural elements supporting spacewalks. On the outside the hull is covered with micrometeoroid shield panels 1 mm thick and multilayer insulation.
• Two docking units - one active and one passive - are located along the longitudinal axis of the docking compartment Pirs. The active docking unit is intended for pressure-tight mating with Zvezda Service Module. The passive docking unit located on the opposite side of the compartment is intended for pressure-tight mating with transportation spacecraft of the Soyuz and Progress type.
• Installed in the hull are two ring frames with hatches for spacewalks. Both hatches have inside diameter of 1000 mm. Each cover has a window with inside diameter of 228 mm. The two hatches are completely equivalent and can be used depending on which side of the Pirs compartment is more convenient for performing a spacewalk. Each hatch is designed for 120 opening cycles. To make cosmonauts' work in open space more comfortable, there are ring handrails around the hatches both inside and outside the compartment.
• Handrails are also installed outside all the hull elements of the compartment in order to make it easier for the crew to work during spacewalks.
• The vehicle for delivery and integration of the docking compartment into ISS RS was a specialized cargo spacecraft developed on the basis of Progress M cargo transportation spacecraft.

Mission details:

• Docking compartment Pirs (Russian airlock and docking port) was delivered into space in complex with special Progress M-SO-1 ship (flight ISS-4R) and mounted on nadir docking port of module "Zvezda".
• Pirs and Progress M-SO1 were launched from Baykonur at 2335 UTC on Sep 14, 2001 aboard a Soyuz-U launch vehicle into around a 180 km circular orbit.
• Pirs/Progress began a flyaround of the ISS and lined up with the nadir port on Zvezda. Docking of Pirs with Zvezda came at 0105 UTC on Sep 17. The Progress M-SO1 will later undock from the Pirs nadir port to leave it free for further dockings. Pirs gives extra clearance from the Station for ships docking underneath Zvezda, and will be used as an airlock for spacewalks using the Russian Orlan EVA suits.
• The Station has a new Russian docking and airlock module. The Stikovochniy Otsek No. 1 (SO1, Docking Module 1), article 240GK No. 1L, was built by Energiya and derived from Soyuz hardware. It has a mass of around 3900 kg and is a 4.1m long, 2.6m dia ellipsoid. The SO1 was named Pirs (Russian for "pier"). It was launched attached to the GKM (cargo ship-module) Progress-M No. 301, named Progress M-SO1 after launch. Progress M-SO1 is the service module section of a Progress M; Pirs replaces the normal cargo and fuel sections. Mass of the GKM is probably around 3000 kg.
• On Jul 26, 2021 at 1055 UTC the docked Progress MS-16/Pirs complex undocked from the nadir port of the Zvezda module. Pirs had been attached to Zvezda since 2001. At 1401 UTC Progress MS-16 performed a 120 m/s deorbit burn and the 9-tonne Progress MS-16/Pirs reentered the atmosphere over the South Pacific at 1442 UTC, with debris reaching the ocean surface at 1452 UTC.
• During the time of Pirs operation as a part of ISS RS, there have been almost 50 spacewalks supporting space station deployment and the program of fundamental and applied research and experiments.

External links:

• ENERGIA: Pirs docking module.
• Capcomespace: Russian Modules. (in French)

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel Korolev. Credit: #401.