Nauka Launch
Nauka: A New Russian Laboratory Reaches the ISS
Nauka launched from Baikonur on July 21, 2021, completed an eight-day rendezvous, and docked to the Russian segment on July 29 to add laboratory, docking, airlock, and crew-support capability.
Mission type
Uncrewed station-module launch and docking
Launch
July 21, 2021
Mission end / docking
July 29, 2021 — docking with the ISS
Launch vehicle / spacecraft
Proton-M
Objective
What this ISS mission set out to accomplish
Expand the Russian segment with a new science facility, docking port, crew workspace, storage, systems equipment, and spacewalk-support capability.
This record treats Nauka Launch as an assembly or station-support mission rather than as a satellite engineering page, keeping the mission objective separate from the hardware-level ISS engineering record.
Flight and rendezvous
How the mission reached and worked at the station
Nauka Launch launched on July 21, 2021 using Proton-M from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
Nauka launched uncrewed on a three-stage Proton rocket and spent eight days in free flight while Russian controllers evaluated its systems and conducted the rendezvous sequence before automated docking.
Hardware and assembly
What was delivered, installed, or reconfigured
Primary hardware or assembly focus: Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module.
Installation record: Docked to the Earth-facing port of the Russian segment on July 29, 2021. This is the engineering connection between the mission story and the interactive International Space Station breakdown.
Outcome
What changed on the International Space Station
Nauka successfully docked and became part of the ISS. Later the same day, an unplanned firing of the module's thrusters moved the station out of orientation; ground teams restored attitude control and NASA reported the crew was not in danger.
The documented result makes Nauka Launch part of the larger ISS assembly chain, where individual missions progressively added structure, power, laboratories, robotics, thermal control, logistics, and crew-support systems.
Continue exploring
Follow the connected story
Open the International Space Station engineering page
See the station modules, truss systems, solar arrays, robotics, and launch/install history in the interactive engineering experience.
Browse launch records
Compare this mission with other launches and ISS assembly flights.
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Explore other TransitSatellite mission stories.