Another Problem With Progress

For the second consecutive time, an unmanned Russian Progress cargo ship has had a problem docking with ISS. On May 1, as reported in this blog, a cosmonaut aboard ISS took over control of a Progress and flew it to a successful docking. This time, just yesterday, a Progress flew right past ISS, missing the space station by two miles. Another attempt to dock the ship will presumably be made at some point.

Before these two mishaps, the Progress series had an excellent record of delivering the goods. After the space shuttle is retired, the Progress will be the main cargo carrier to ISS, though Europe and Japan have small programs and the American private firms SpaceX and Orbital Sciences have contracts with NASA to deliver cargo to ISS. If Progress continues to have problems and becomes less reliable for some reason, there may be an even bigger opportunity for private enterprise in this area than previously thought.