Indian Mars mission suffered engine glitch
Posted: Mon, Nov 11, 2013, 1:27 PM ET (1827 GMT)
A problem with the main engine on India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft caused the spacecraft to fall short of its planned altitude on its latest orbit-raising maneuver Monday, but officials said they believed the problem could be easily corrected. The maneuver, the fourth of six planned since last week's launch, changed the velocity of the spacecraft by only 35 meters per second, instead of the planned 120 meters per second; the apogee of the spacecraft's orbit increased from 71,600 to 78,300 kilometers, instead of to the planned 100,000 kilometers. The Indian Space Research Organisation said in a statement that primary and secondary controls for a propellant flow valve were turned on simultaneously during the maneuver, which had the inadvertent effect of shutting off the flow of propellant to the engine. ISRO said it plans to carry out a supplemental maneuver early Tuesday to put the spacecraft into the planned orbit. Two final maneuvers by the end of this month will put MOM on a trajectory to Mars, arriving in September 2014.
A problem with the main engine on India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft caused the spacecraft to fall short of its planned altitude on its latest orbit-raising maneuver Monday, but officials said they believed the problem could be easily corrected. The maneuver, the fourth of six planned since last week's launch, changed the velocity of the spacecraft by only 35 meters per second, instead of the planned 120 meters per second; the apogee of the spacecraft's orbit increased from 71,600 to 78,300 kilometers, instead of to the planned 100,000 kilometers. The Indian Space Research Organisation said in a statement that primary and secondary controls for a propellant flow valve were turned on simultaneously during the maneuver, which had the inadvertent effect of shutting off the flow of propellant to the engine. ISRO said it plans to carry out a supplemental maneuver early Tuesday to put the spacecraft into the planned orbit. Two final maneuvers by the end of this month will put MOM on a trajectory to Mars, arriving in September 2014.| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
SpaceX launches Starlink satellites in final launch of 2024
Posted: Sat, Jan 4 8:39 AM ET (1339 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, January 11
BlackSky Wins U.S. Space Force Rapid Procurement Contracts Supporting Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Tracking Missions
Business Wire — 8:44 am ET (1344 GMT) Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket prepared for pivotal test launch
Washington Post — 8:41 am ET (1341 GMT) Visitors anticipateing 7th SpaceX launch not looking forward to heavy traffic
KVEO-TV Rio Grande Valley, TX — 8:40 am ET (1340 GMT) With New Glenn Launch, Bezos Looks To Break Musk’s Stranglehold On Space
Forbes.com — 8:37 am ET (1337 GMT) Cosmic chili: José Andrés Group is helping pioneer cooking in space
Axios — 8:35 am ET (1335 GMT) |
