Russian military satellite launched into wrong orbit
Posted: Wed, Feb 2, 2011, 8:03 AM ET (1303 GMT)
A Russian rocket launched a military satellite Tuesday, but apparently placed the spacecraft into the wrong orbit. The Rockot vehicle lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia Tuesday at 9 am EST (1400 GMT) Tuesday, carrying the GEO-IK 2 satellite, but ground controllers could not initially contact the spacecraft after entering orbit. The Russian military did later establish contact with the satellite after discovering that the satellite was not in its planned circular orbit at an altitude of 1,000 kilometers, but instead in an elliptical orbit with a perigee of 330 km. Officials speculate that a problem with the Rockot's upper stage prevented the spacecraft from reaching its planned orbit, and are now looking into what the spacecraft can do in its current orbit. The satellite was the first of two geodetic spacecraft intended to perform measurements of the Earth's shape and gravitational field.
A Russian rocket launched a military satellite Tuesday, but apparently placed the spacecraft into the wrong orbit. The Rockot vehicle lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia Tuesday at 9 am EST (1400 GMT) Tuesday, carrying the GEO-IK 2 satellite, but ground controllers could not initially contact the spacecraft after entering orbit. The Russian military did later establish contact with the satellite after discovering that the satellite was not in its planned circular orbit at an altitude of 1,000 kilometers, but instead in an elliptical orbit with a perigee of 330 km. Officials speculate that a problem with the Rockot's upper stage prevented the spacecraft from reaching its planned orbit, and are now looking into what the spacecraft can do in its current orbit. The satellite was the first of two geodetic spacecraft intended to perform measurements of the Earth's shape and gravitational field.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, September 30
Inside Louisiana’s pitch for the future U.S. Space Academy
WWL-TV New Orleans — 6:04 am ET (1004 GMT) Metro Moves: Denver’s Astro Digital plans to go public
Denver Gazette — 6:04 am ET (1004 GMT) Astro Digital Takes SPAC Deal to Scale Satellite Manufacturing
ViaSatellite — 6:04 am ET (1004 GMT) Notice Regarding a Malfunction of “GRUS-3,” Microsatellites for the AxelGlobe Business
Axelspace — 6:04 am ET (1004 GMT) Washington Gov. Ferguson enlists SpaceX, Blue Origin among space council members
KOIN-TV Portland, OR — 5:57 am ET (0957 GMT) |
