Solar sail launched, status unknown
Posted: Tue, Jun 21, 2005, 8:18 PM ET (0018 GMT)
A sub-based Russian booster launched an experimental solar sail satellite late Tuesday, but ground controllers have yet to establish contact with the spacecraft. The Volna rocket launched from a Russian missile submarine in the Barents Sea at 3:46 pm EDT (1946 GMT), carrying the Cosmos 1 spacecraft. The rocket was supposed to place the satellite into orbit, which would then establish radio contact with ground stations. However, the last data received from the mission was during an orbit insertion burn; ground controllers in Pasadena reported that the firing initially appeared normal but that data later became noisy before being lost altogether. Mission officials said late Tuesday afternoon that they don't know yet if there was a problem with the launch vehicle or the satellite, or even if the satellite is in orbit. Cosmos 1, a joint venture of The Planetary Society and Cosmos Studios, is designed to be the first orbital test of a solar sail, using sunlight to gradually raise the spacecraft's orbit around the Earth. A suborbital test flight in July 2001 of the solar sail system used on Cosmos 1 also failed when the payload failed to separate from the Volna booster.
A sub-based Russian booster launched an experimental solar sail satellite late Tuesday, but ground controllers have yet to establish contact with the spacecraft. The Volna rocket launched from a Russian missile submarine in the Barents Sea at 3:46 pm EDT (1946 GMT), carrying the Cosmos 1 spacecraft. The rocket was supposed to place the satellite into orbit, which would then establish radio contact with ground stations. However, the last data received from the mission was during an orbit insertion burn; ground controllers in Pasadena reported that the firing initially appeared normal but that data later became noisy before being lost altogether. Mission officials said late Tuesday afternoon that they don't know yet if there was a problem with the launch vehicle or the satellite, or even if the satellite is in orbit. Cosmos 1, a joint venture of The Planetary Society and Cosmos Studios, is designed to be the first orbital test of a solar sail, using sunlight to gradually raise the spacecraft's orbit around the Earth. A suborbital test flight in July 2001 of the solar sail system used on Cosmos 1 also failed when the payload failed to separate from the Volna booster.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Vast signs contract with SpaceX for ISS private astronaut missions
Posted: Sat, Dec 21 11:59 AM ET (1659 GMT) Avio signs ESA contracts for Vega upgrades and Earth science satellite launch
Posted: Sat, Dec 21 11:57 AM ET (1657 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, December 26
Buy SpaceX Stock With Ease, But Beware The Risks
Forbes.com — 7:35 am ET (1235 GMT) ESA Enlists Portuguese Navy Submarine to Prepare for Deep Space
European Spaceflight — 7:22 am ET (1222 GMT) Has CNES Opened the Door for a European Space Station?
European Spaceflight — 7:21 am ET (1221 GMT) Scientists await signal from spacecraft after historic close encounter with the sun
NPR — 7:19 am ET (1219 GMT) Summer read: Cosmic Catastrophes
Cosmos Magazine — 7:18 am ET (1218 GMT) |
