WASHINGTON — An unmanned Russian Progress resupply tug flew past the international space station July 2 without docking after losing its telemetry lock about 20 minutes before the scheduled rendezvous.
Progress 38 was scheduled to dock with the space station’s Zvezda service module at 12:58 p.m. EDT, but the autonomous docking maneuver was aborted. NASA officials said the station was never in any danger as the spacecraft flew by the orbital outpost at a distance of nearly 3 kilometers.
“Managers are assessing the situation to determine the next course of action before resuming docking activities,” NASA said in a statement.
NASA mission control commentator Rob Navias said another docking attempt would not be made for at least 48 hours.
The supply-laden Progress launched June 30 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying propellant, water, air and 1,200 kilograms of dry cargo, including fresh food and clean clothes for the six people living aboard the station.
