Course (rapprochement system)

The “Course” system consists of the equipment of the “active” ship, which carries out all necessary maneuvers, and the equipment of the “passive” ship ( orbital station ), the position of which is not controlled by the “Course” system. Initially, the equipment of the active ship was called Kurs-A, and the orbital station Kurs-P. In 2018, several options and upgrades for the equipment of the active ship were developed. All these upgrades are compatible with passive station equipment. ^[2]

The main features of the new system are the lack of need for a turn of the orbital station, redundancy of equipment to improve reliability, built-in test control systems, androgyny (measurement of range and speed on both spacecraft), large ranges of measured parameters, high accuracy, and the delivery of necessary information for overflights.

For the “Kurs” equipment, a complex of test equipment was developed, which included a control computer complex based onUVM SM-2M, simulators of range, speed, control system, angles and angular velocity. A unique stand was built with two anechoic chambers and heat-cold chambers. Particularly intense work was underway on the manufacture and testing of the passive (installed on the orbital station) kit 17P65.

Since the beginning of the 1970s, for the independent reservation of the Igla approximation system existing at that time, the development of the Mera mutual measurement system began. ^[2] In 1981-1984, “Measure” was used under the “ Salute-6 ” program. In 1979, on the basis of the worked out frequency grid of the Mera system, the development of the second generation of equipment was started VISS , dubbed the "Course". The main designers:

• Morgulev A.S.
• Suslennikov V.V. since 1988.
• Medvedev S. B. since 2001.

The equipment of the Kurs-A radio engineering system was originally manufactured in Ukraine (Kiev Elmis), and since 2002 in Russia ( Izhevsk Radio Plant OJSC and NII TP OJSC) using Elmis components. Since 2016, the Soyuz spacecraft has been equipped with the Kurs-NA system, which is fully manufactured in Russia ^{[3] [4]} .

• "Course-P" - a set of equipment of a passive orbital station. It was installed at Mir and ISS stations.
• Kurs-A is the initial set of equipment for an active ship. It was installed on the Soyuz TM , Soyuz TMA, Soyuz TMA-M, Progress ships.
• "Course-ON" - a modern set of active ship equipment. It is installed on the ships of the Soyuz MS and Progress MS series .
• "Course-ATV" - a set of active vehicle equipment for ATV .
• Kurs-35 is a set of equipment for the Buran reusable spacecraft.
• “Kurs-O” is an optical channel of the “Kurs” system, providing mooring at the last 30 meters.
• "Course-N"

Course-A

In 1986, the first docking took place using the Kurs equipment as part of the Soyuz TM ship (11F732A51 No. 51) ^{[5] [6]} .

The active part of the system, called "Course-A", was operated until March 19, 2016, when it ensured the successful docking of the Soyuz TMA-20M manned spacecraft ^[7] . It was replaced by a new set of equipment of the active ship "Course-ON".

In 1996, in connection with the improvement of the spacecraft control systems, the “Kurs” equipment was modernized, which consisted in abandoning the gyro-stabilized ASF-VKA narrow-beam antenna platform. This significantly increased the reliability of the equipment, simplified its manufacture. Algorithms for processing goniometric information in equipment have also undergone significant refinement, and the accuracy of measuring roll angles has been improved.

Course-MM

In 1994, a decision was made, approved by the leadership of the RCA , RSC Energia and the Scientific Research Institute of Precision Instruments (NII TP) on the development of the Kurs-MM short-range radio-electronic mutual measurement system for automatic spacecraft docking. Based on the concept of using the autonomous GPS navigation system and the airborne radio link in the far section of the approach, the Kurs-MM range should have been 1-2 km . The creation of this system was preceded by scientific research work (R&D) performed by the Scientific Research Institute of TP for the study of the characteristics of the direction finder of the millimeter wave range. The results of research showed a high accuracy of angular measurements of the original phase direction finder proposed by V. Zhuravlev

By 1998, complete sets of the passive part of Kurs-MM (171A2) were manufactured and underwent full ground processing (including as part of the Zvezda and Zarya modules). Antennas were developed at the Scientific Research Institute of TP, and the transmitting and receiving modules at NPP Salyut in Nizhny Novgorod . The design documentation was developed for the active part of the system (171A1), but due to lack of funding, an autonomous navigation system and an inter-hull radio link, further work on the Course-MM was discontinued in 2000.

Course-ON

Since 2003, the department has been working on the creation of the Kurs-ON equipment complex (HA is a new active one) designed to replace the active part of the Kurs-A equipment on spacecraft. Compared with Kurs-A, Kurs-NA equipment weighs half as much, and energy consumption is reduced by three times. The capabilities of the control system provide docking with a shorter initial range and in a narrower sector of working angles.

A feature of the new equipment is the almost complete rejection of analog signal processing with the performance of all functions by microprocessors, the introduction of a new AO-753A antenna into the equipment, which is a low-element phase-controlled antenna array. At large distances from the station, global navigation systems GPS and Glonass can now be used for navigation. ^{[2] [8]}

The new antenna will perform the functions of the 2AO-VKA and AKP-VKA antennas included in the Kurs equipment. Control and testing equipment for the Kurs-N complex is developed to solve many problems of processing control information using software rather than hardware methods, which will significantly reduce the weight, dimensions and consumption of the new KPA compared to similar equipment for Kurs. In addition, automation and reliability of control are increased ^[9] .

The first test of the new system took place during the flight of the Progress M-15M TGK . The first docking attempt was unsuccessful. According to the flight director of the ISS Russian Segment, Vladimir Solovyov, the Kursa-ON sensor equipment at sufficiently large distances failed. The controlling computers at the TGK itself considered this equipment to be substandard and stopped approaching the ISS operating system. Specialists reprogrammed the TGCs before the second docking attempt, so that the ship’s computers were ready for the various inaccuracies that the Kurs-ON system could give. Successful docking took place on the night of July 28-29, 2012 ^[10] . The next test of the system took place during the flight of the Progress M-21M TGK. The rapprochement took place automatically, but 60 m before the station the traffic was stopped. The procedure was completed by astronaut Oleg Kotov ^[11] .

Starting with the ships of the Progress_MS series (first flight December 2015) and Soyuz_MS (first flight July 2016), the system became a full-time system, completely replacing the outdated Course-A. ^{[12] [8]}

Course-MCP

Kurs-MKP is a two-component digital system for docking manned and cargo spacecraft to the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS), the passive part of Kurs-P which will be installed on the ISS, and the active Kurs-A on ships docked to it since 2018. The Kurs-MKP consists of separate structurally completed modules, and operates at a distance of up to 200 kilometers. The equipment is adapted for operation not only in the sealed compartments of the ISS, but also in conditions of possible depressurization ^[13] . The new equipment is lighter and three times more economical in energy consumption than the analogue of the previous generation ^[14] .

Course-L

The Kurs-L system is being developed for the promising Russian manned spacecraft Federation . A new radio engineering system is being created to work not only in near-Earth space, but also in the orbit of the moon. The output of the prototype for testing is planned after 2021.
The new system will be lighter, more compact and able to withstand radiation loads. It will be built on a modular basis. It is planned to create two versions of the system: a simplified one - a proximity meter for docking in near-Earth orbit, and a more complex version for ensuring the approach and docking of spacecraft in the moon’s orbit ^[15] .

Kurs-ATV

Since 2000, the department has been working on the creation on the basis of Kurs equipment of an independent monitoring system for the approach and docking of the ATV Automatic Cargo Ship (AGK) developed by the ESA European Space Agency (ESA) and the International Space Station ISS . The equipment provides information processing using a special calculator of its own design. Widely used advanced foreign element base. In 2004, Kurs-ATV equipment successfully passed ground tests both autonomously and as part of an ATV vehicle.

Course 35

On the basis of the Kurs proximity system, docking equipment was developed for the Buran reusable spacecraft (Kurs-35). This approach system included the Kurs active and passive sets of equipment, as well as the Kurs-O optical channel, which was supposed to provide mooring at the last 30 meters.

• Needle (rapprochement system)
• Trajectory control system