Launches of second-generation Globalstar satellites began in October 2010, and Wednesday’s launch was the third group of six satellites to be placed into orbit.

The second-generation Globalstar constellation is intended to replace the existing first-generation constellation, which began deployment in 1998. Launches were conducted in groups of four, on Delta II and Soyuz rockets, with a single launch of twelve satellites on a Zenit-2, however the Zenit launch failed.The first-generation satellites were built by Space Systems/Loral, based around the LS-400 bus, with a communications payload built by Alenia Spazio. The constellation consisted of forty eight operational satellites, and four spares.

Including the twelve satellites which failed to achieve orbit, this resulted in sixty four being launched between 1998 and 2000, by means of seven Delta II 7420, and six Soyuz-U/Ikar rockets. The satellites had a design life of seven and a half years, and in 2007 eight replacement satellites were launched using Soyuz-FG/Fregat rockets.

The third Globalstar launch, conducted on 9 February 1999, marked the first commercial launch of the Soyuz rocket, and the first launch to be conducted by Starsem; the company conducting Wednesday’s launch.

That Soyuz flew in the Soyuz-U/Ikar configuration, using an older version of the Soyuz rocket, and an upper stage derived from the Yantar reconnaissance satellite. The Ikar upper stage was short-lived; it was only used for the six Globalstar launches before being retired in favour of the Fregat.

The new Globalstar satellites were constructed by Thales Alenia Space, under a contract signed in 2006, and are each equipped with sixteen transponders operating in the C and S bands of the IEEE spectrum (E-H bands of the NATO spectrum).

Each spacecraft generates power by means of two solar arrays, which can produce 2.4 kilowatts of power. Three-axis control is used to ensure that the satellites retain the correct attitude for relaying communications and orienting their solar arrays towards the sun. The satellites are expected to operate for fifteen years.

Soyuz-2 is a modernised variant of the Soyuz rocket, itself a derivative of the R-7 Semyorka, the world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile. The R-7 made its first flight in 1957, and a modified version was used to launch Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, later that year. In addition to Soyuz, the R-7 has served as the basis of the Vostok, Molniya and Voskhod rockets as well as several other variants which made small numbers of flights.

Vostok rockets launched early Soviet manned spaceflights, reconnaissance satellites, and a modified version launched the first Soviet lunar probes. Molniya was used to launch missions beyond Earth orbit, as well as military, communications and scientific satellites into high Earth orbits. The Voskhod rocket, which first flew in November 1964, was the predecessor to the Soyuz. It incorporated the Blok I third stage developed for the Molniya rocket, powered by an RD-0108 engine. Voskhod was used to launch reconnaissance satellites, and missions of the manned Voskhod programme.

The Soyuz, meaning “Union”, first flew on 28 October 1966. Derived from the Voskhod, it incorporated upgraded engines, including an RD-0110 on the third stage, as well as a lower-mass and improved telemetry system. The original Soyuz was used exclusively for launches of Soyuz spacecraft, both manned and unmanned. Not including one which exploded on its launch pad after its launch had been delayed, thirty one were launched, the last of which flew in 1975 carrying the Soyuz 23 spacecraft.

Between 1970 and 1971, three Soyuz-L rockets were launched, incorporating reinforcements to the core stages and a larger payload fairing to accommodate prototypes of the LK spacecraft, the spacecraft the Soviet Union intended to use to land men on the Moon. Another Soyuz variant, the Soyuz-M, was developed to launch the Soyuz 7K-VI; the military version of the Soyuz spacecraft, which was heavier than the civilian version. After the cancellation of the military Soyuz programme, eight Soyuz-M rockets were used to launch Zenit-4MT reconnaissance satellites, with launches occurring between 1971 and 1976.

The Soyuz-U was developed as a standardised launch system, to replace the Voskhod and Soyuz and provide commonality with the Molniya-M. It first flew in May 1973, and in 1976 the original Soyuz, Soyuz-M and Voskhod were all retired, with subsequent launches of their payloads being conducted by Soyuz-U rockets. The Soyuz-U2 configuration, which was optimised to use synthetic propellant allowing it to carry more payload, was introduced in 1982, and used for around 90 launches before being retired in 1995.

With around 750 flights, the Soyuz-U is the most-flown orbital launch system ever developed. It remains in service, and in the last few years it has mostly been used to launch Progress missions to the International Space Station, as well as occasional military payloads. Recent launches have used the Soyuz-U PVB version, which features additional fireproofing.

In 2001, the Soyuz-FG, which featured a new fuel injection system, was introduced, providing an increased payload capacity. After three test flights carrying Progress spacecraft, the Soyuz-FG began launching manned Soyuz-TMA spacecraft to the ISS, a role which it continues to perform.

The Soyuz-2 features modernised engines and digital flight controls. There are three different configurations; the Soyuz-2-1a, 2-1b and 2-1v, with the 2-1a and b using different third stage engines. The Soyuz-2-1v is a two-stage vehicle, without the first stage used in the other configurations, and with an NK-33 engine replacing the RD-108 used on the second stage of the other configurations. It is expected to make its maiden flight next year.

The Soyuz-ST is a derivative of the Soyuz-2 optimised for launching from the Centre Spatial Guyanais, and equipped with a self-destruct system to meet range safety requirements there. The Soyuz-ST made its first launch in October, and can fly in two configurations; the Soyuz-STA and STB, based on the Soyuz-2-1a and 2-1b respectively.

The Soyuz-2 made its maiden flight in 2004, in the Soyuz-2-1a configuration. It carried an obsolete Zenit-8 reconnaissance satellite, refitted with test instrumentation, on a suborbital trajectory. It is not entirely clear whether the mission was intended to be suborbital, or whether the rocket actually failed to achieve orbit. The first launch into orbit occurred in October 2006, when a Soyuz-2-1a/Fregat deployed the MetOp-A weather satellite. The Soyuz-2-1b made its maiden flight later the same year, carrying the COROT exoplanet detection satellite.

Under Russian stage numbering, the booster rockets which augment the core stage’s thrust during the first 118 seconds of flight are considered to be its first stage, even though the core, or second stage, ignites at the same time. The first stage consists of four strap-ons, designated Blok-B, V, G and D, which are powered each powered by an RD-107A engine. The first stages are attached around the second stage, or Blok-A, which is powered by a single RD-108A. All of the first three stages of the Soyuz burn RP-1 propellant, using liquid oxygen as an oxidiser.

The first and second stages ignite about 17-20 seconds before launch, and slowly build up thrust. Once full thrust has been achieved, the launch pad’s four swing arms will release the rocket to begin its ascent to orbit. Eight seconds after lifting off, the rocket will pitch over. After burning for 118.25 seconds, the first stage will be jettisoned, forming a pattern in the sky known as the “Cross of Korolev” as the four boosters separate from the core.

The second stage will continue to burn for another 168.94 seconds before separating from the third stage, which will have ignited about two seconds ahead of staging. The third stage is a Blok-I, which is powered by a single RD-0110 engine. It is expected to burn for 243.9 seconds, before Fregat separation occurs. Near the start of third stage flight, about 9.66 seconds after second stage separation, the “aft section” or interstage will be jettisoned from the Blok-I. Fairing separation will also occur during third stage flight, about four minutes and fifty eight seconds after liftoff.

The Fregat upper stage, which is propelled by unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide fuelling an S5.98M engine, will be used to place the Globalstar satellites into their target orbit. The Fregat, which is making its thirty first flight, has been used as a fourth stage on Soyuz-U, Soyuz-FG and Soyuz-2 rockets, and also as the third stage of the Zenit-3F.

Fregat made its first flight in first flew in 2000, on a Soyuz-U rocket carrying the IRDT inflatable heat shield experiment. The Fregat was also equipped with a prototype heat shield, and was intended to be recovered if possible; however it could not be found after reentry. The heat shield was a one-off on the test flight; Fregats are generally allowed to burn up in the atmosphere.

Only two launches of Fregats have failed to date. One of these, last week’s Soyuz-2-1b launch, failed before the Fregat had even fired, and the upper stage was not responsible for the anomaly. The other failure was caused by the Fregat; the May 2009 launch of the Meridian 2 satellite ended in failure after a programming error led to the Fregat expending propellant at a greater rate than it should have, and it ran out of fuel during the second of three planned burns. The propulsion system of the Fobos-Grunt spacecraft, which failed to depart Earth orbit on a mission to Mars’ moon Phobos, was also based on the Fregat, however it was modified, and it is unclear what the cause of the spacecraft’s failure was.

During Wednesday’s launch, the Fregat made three burns. The first burn occurred immediately after separation from the Soyuz, taking the spacecraft and upper stage into a transfer orbit, with a perigee of 210 kilometres and an apogee of 923 kilometres, inclined at 51.7 degrees. The second, fifty minutes later, resulted in an orbit with a perigee of 928 kilometres, an apogee of 933 kilometres, and 52 degrees of inclination.

One hour, 38 minutes and 40 seconds after liftoff, the first two satellites separated from the upper section of their dispenser. The remaining four satellites separated from the lower section 100 seconds later. The Fregat will subsequently be deorbited and reenter the atmosphere over the south Pacific.

The launch went ahead just five days after a Soyuz-2-1b failed to place a Meridian communications satellite into orbit; initial investigation has indicated that the failure was caused by the rocket’s third stage engine, which differs from that used on the Soyuz-2-1a. The Soyuz-2-1a uses the older RD-0110 engine, which has been used on Soyuz and Molniya rockets since the 1960s, whereas the Soyuz-2-1b uses the more modern RD-0124, which uses a closed-cycle oxidiser system to power its turbopumps, giving the engine a higher specific impulse.

Wednesday’s launch occurred from pad 6 of Site 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Site 31/6 is one of two Soyuz launch pads at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, along with Site 1/5. Currently, it is the only one of the two pads used for Soyuz-2 launches, whilst the older Soyuz-U and Soyuz-FG models can fly from either pad. The first launch from Site 31/6 was a test of an R-7A missile in January 1961. The first orbital launch from the complex occurred in November 1964, when the first of two Polyot, or Sputnik 11A59, carrier rockets place the Polyot-1 satellite into orbit.

The pad was subsequently used for launches of Vostok and Voskhod rockets, including the launch of Kosmos 57, a test of the Voskhod-3KD spacecraft to be used for the Voskhod 2 mission. On 12 November 1965, a Molniya-M launched Venera 2 from Site 31, before another launched Venera 3 from the pad four days later. A third Venera launch a week later failed, with the spacecraft remaining in Earth orbit as Kosmos 96.

In 1965 the Soyuz/Vostok 11A510 rocket, comprised of the first two stages of the Soyuz, with the third stage of a Vostok, made the first of two launches from Site 31. The next year, on 28 November, the pad was the site of the maiden flight of the full Soyuz rocket, the 11A511. That launch also marked the maiden flight of the Soyuz spacecraft, making an unmanned test designated Kosmos 133. Less than a month later the pad was the site of a major explosion, when the launch escape system of the second Soyuz was accidentally fired when the rocket was being defuelled after a scrubbed launch. At least one soldier was killed in the explosion, and no more launches occurred from Site 31 for the next six and a half months whilst the complex was rebuilt using parts from Site 16/2 at Plesetsk.

The first manned launch from the complex was of Soyuz 3 in October 1968; the first manned spaceflight launched by the Soviet Union after the death of Vladimir Komarov aboard Soyuz 1 in 1967. It was subsequently used for Soyuz-U launches, although manned launches ended in 1984 with Soyuz T-12. All manned flights since have been launched form Site 1/5. Site 31 has also been used for all Soyuz launches from Baikonur using Fregat upper stages, and consequently most commercial Soyuz launches.

This launch was the eighty fourth and last of 2011 intended to reach orbit; the most launches conducted in a year since 2000. Of the previous eighty three launches, seventy nine reached orbit, and seventy seven were successful. The launch of these six Globalstar satellites also marks the nineteenth launch of a Soyuz rocket in 2011, making it jointly the most-launched orbital launch system of the year. China’s Long March series of rockets also made 19 launches.

Russia has, for the eleventh consecutive year, conducted more orbital launches than any other country. Including Wednesday’s launch, and across all flights of former Soviet rockets, thirty one successful launches have been made from thirty five attempts. These include a Zenit launched from the Odyssey platform by Sea Launch, and two Soyuz-ST launches from the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana, conducted by Arianespace.

Russia’s activities in space in 2011 have been marred by four launch failures and the high-profile loss of the Fobos-Grunt probe shortly after launch. In February, a Rokot/Briz-KM rocket placed the Geo-IK-2 No.11 spacecraft, since redesignated Kosmos 2470, into a useless orbit.

In August, a Proton-M/Briz-M failed to place the Ekspress-AM4 satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, instead leaving it in an orbit with an insufficiently high apogee, and then less than a week later a Soyuz-U failed to achieve orbit carrying the Progress M-12M cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station.

Fobos-Grunt was successfully launched by a modified Zenit-2M rocket in November, however about two and a half hours after launch, the spacecraft failed to execute an orbit-raising manoeuvre, and contact with it was subsequently lost.

Communications were briefly re-established in late November, however the spacecraft could not be commanded to depart its parking orbit, and it is expected to reenter early in the new year. The final Russian failure of the year came on Friday, when a Soyuz-2-1b failed to achieve orbit with a Meridian satellite.

The next Soyuz launch is scheduled for 25 January, when a Soyuz-U will deploy the Progress M-14M spacecraft on a mission to resupply the International Space Station. Starsem’s next launch is planned for 23 May next year, when a Soyuz-2-1a with a Fregat upper stage will place the MetOp-B weather satellite into orbit. Another Globalstar launch is also expected to occur in 2012, in the second half of the year, again using a Soyuz-2-1a/Fregat.

(Images via Roscosmos, Starsem and L2).

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Soyuz Launch:

Soyuz TMA-03M is the third “digital” TMA-M (700 series) Soyuz to launch into space, and marks the full transition of the Soyuz to the digital era, since every Soyuz hereafter will also be of the upgraded digital variant. The upgrades consist of updated Neptun panel displays and controls, as well as lighter system components which allow for more payload (~50kg) to be launched inside the Soyuz.

Following a two-day free flight, Soyuz TMA-03M will rendezvous with the ISS on Friday (23rd December), for a 2:22 PM GMT docking at the Mini Research Module-1 (MRM-1) “Rassvet”, vacated on 22nd November by the departing Soyuz TMA-02M/27S spacecraft.

Once hatches are opened a few hours later, the current three-member Expedition 30 crew – consisting of American astronaut and ISS Commander Dan Burbank, as well as Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov & Anatoly Ivanishin – will welcome the Soyuz TMA-03M crew aboard the ISS just in time for the festive holiday period.

It is tradition for crews arriving at the ISS during the holiday period to bring festive gifts for their counterparts – as was seen on 22nd December 2009, when the just-docked Soyuz TMA-17 crew entered the ISS carrying Christmas trees and wearing Santa hats. The already on-orbit Expedition 30 crewmembers have decorated the ISS for the arrival of the Soyuz TMA-03M crew.

Soyuz TMA-03M is planned to remain docked to the ISS until 16th May, whereupon it will undock and land on the steppe of Kazakhstan.

Soyuz TMA-03M crewmembers:

Soyuz TMA-03M is carrying a fairly un-typical crew, since none of the three crewmembers are military aviators, and two are from medical and research backgrounds – a shape of things to come now that the ISS has entered the utilisation era, following completion of the US segment of the station and subsequent retirement of the Space Shuttle.

All three crewmembers have visited the ISS before, and all have flown on Soyuz before, with the caveat that Don Pettit has landed but never launched on a Soyuz.

Soyuz TMA-03M is being commanded by veteran Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, who most recently flew in space during the Expedition 17 mission from April to October 2008. He flew to and returned from the ISS in the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft, along with fellow cosmonaut Sergey Volkov, who returned from space just one month ago aboard Soyuz TMA-02M.

Kononenko, born 21st June 1964 (currently 47 years of age), graduated as a mechanical engineer from the Zhukovsky Kharkov Aviation Institute in 1988, following which he went to work for the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, as an engineer, prior to being selected for cosmonaut training in 1996. He is married with one son and one daughter.

Upon arrival at the ISS, he will serve as Flight Engineer on Expedition 30, and command the ISS during Expedition 31, from 16th March to 16th May next year. Kononenko is also slated to perform at least one spacewalk during his second flight, having previously conducted two spacewalks during his six-month mission in 2008.

Flight Engineer-1 (FE-1) on Soyuz TMA-03M is European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut André Kuipers, who was born in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on 5th October 1958 (current age 53). He has flown in space only once before during the eleven-day DELTA mission, launching aboard Soyuz TMA-4 on 19th April 2004 and returning to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-5 on 30th April 2004. During his mission, he conducted 21 experiments aboard the ISS for the European Space Agency.

Such short missions were common in the past, since at the time the ISS was crewed by only two people in wake of the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy, meaning that a third seat was free on each launching and landing Soyuz for an additional short-term crewmember.

Kuipers earned his medical Doctorate from the University of Amsterdam in 1987, whereupon he worked at various medical institutions, including serving as an officer in the Royal Netherlands Air Force Medical Corps, and investigating data from various life sciences missions aboard the Space Shuttle. He was selected as an ESA astronaut in 1998, and is married with three daughters and one son.

During his second space mission (named “PromISSe” in keeping with ESA tradition), which is his first long-duration flight, Kuipers will participate in multiple experiments on the ISS, utilising his medical experience in the investigation of human physiology in microgravity.

Rounding out the Soyuz TMA-03M crew as Flight Engineer-2 (FE-2) is NASA astronaut Don Pettit, infamous in the space world for his passion for, skills with, and promotion of science, especially in microgravity. Born in Silverton, Oregon, on 20th April 1955 (current age 56), Dr. Pettit earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Arizona in 1983, prior to working at the Los Alamos National Laboratory until he was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1996.

Pettit has flown two previous space flights, ISS Expedition 6 from 2002 to 2003, and Space Shuttle mission STS-126 in November 2008.

His first ISS flight, Expedition 6, was not without incident. Pettit, who launched to the ISS along with fellow crewmembers Ken Bowersox and Nikolai Budarin aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on the STS-113 mission on 23rd November 2002, was only scheduled to stay aboard the ISS for four months, returning on STS-114 in March 2003. However, during Pettit’s stay aboard the ISS, the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy occurred, on 1st February 2003.

While the tragedy was of course a tremendous loss to the Expedition 6 crew, the subsequent grounding of the Space Shuttle fleet had left the Expedition 6 crew with no ride home. Eventually, the crew was able to return to Earth two months later than planned inside their Soyuz TMA-1 lifeboat on 4th May 2003, which at the time was an untested new TMA (200 series) variant of the Soyuz. Thus, although Pettit has previously done a re-entry in a Soyuz, this will be his first launch in a Soyuz.

Click here for ISS News Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/iss/

During Expedition 6, Pettit became known for his “Saturday Morning Science” projects, which he performed in his own free time, videoed, and downlinked to Earth for public release. Now that the ISS is a fully completed National Laboratory, with scientific capabilities an order of magnitude better than they were during Expedition 6, Pettit is expected to continue his microgravity scientific demonstrations during Expeditions 30 and 31.

However, with a more capable ISS comes a more maintenance-heavy ISS, and since the crews may need to conduct “Saturday Morning Maintenance” in future, Pettit has suggested that his science projects may become “Saturday Afternoon Science” this time around (a dedicated thread for coverage of Dr. Pettit’s science activities exists in the ISS Section of the NASASpaceflight Forum).

Progress M-12M failure:

Of relevance to the Soyuz TMA-03M launch was the 24th August launch failure of the Progress M-12M/44P spacecraft, caused by a premature shutdown of the uncrewed Soyuz-U booster’s third stage RD-0110 engine, due to a blocked fuel line leading to the engine’s gas generator.

As much as the issue was billed as a one off, which was subsequently confirmed by the successful 30th October flight of the Soyuz-U with Progress M-13M/45P and the 14th November flight of the crewed Soyuz-FG with Soyuz TMA-22/28S, all eyes were on the Soyuz-FG booster during launch, although the RD-0110 engine used in by the vehicle has been tested and confirmed to be free of defects. The vehicle performed without issue during ascent.

While the threat of a station de-crewing in wake of the Progress M-12M failure was alleviated by the successful 16th November docking of the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft, a successful Soyuz TMA-03M docking on Friday would put the ISS back up to six crewmembers for the first time since the 16th September departure of Soyuz TMA-21/26S, although ISS did enjoy a brief period of six crewmembers during the six day handover between the new Soyuz TMA-22 and outgoing Soyuz TMA-02M crews from 16th to 22nd November.

Thus, the successful launch enables the ISS to return to stable six-crew operations by yearend, nearly four months after the launch failure of Progress M-12M, which has at best highlighted the dangers of relying on one launch system for crewed access to the ISS.

(Images via Roscosmos and NASA)

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Proton Launch:

The Russian Luch 5A satellite has a mass of 2.4 metric tons, featuring two photovoltaic arrays, which provide 1.8 kW of power. Three large antennas and numerous small helical antennas enable data relays in the 15/14, 15/11, and 0.9/0.7 GHz bands.

Five satellites have been built on the heritage of this platform (KAUR-4), but only four were launched, namely Kosmos 1700, Kosmos 1897, Kosmos 2054 and Luch-1 – none of which are currently operational. The second generation platform included several improvements. Only one satellite in this range was launched – Luch-2 1 – which is also no longer operational.

Two more satellites in the Luch-5A range are scheduled to be launched – Luch-5B in 2012 and and Luch-4 in 2013.

Israel’s AMOS-5 satellite is aimed at Africa’s emerging satellite services market, taking position at the new 17 Degrees East location. Once in orbit, the AMOS-5 satellite will feature a fixed pan-African C-band beam and three steerable Ku-band beams – all covering Africa with connectivity to Europe and the Middle East and supporting multiple transponders in both C-band and Ku-band.

Together with the AMOS-2 and the AMOS-3 satellites co-located at Spacecom’s 4 Degrees W orbital “hot spot,” the AMOS-5 satellite will give the company’s customers coverage over many of the world’s fastest growing and highest-demand satellite markets in the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa.

With an expected lifetime of 15 years, AMOS-5 sports 18 Ku-band and 18 C-band transponders, providing a variety of coverage, including Direct-To-Home TV broadcasting services.

The Proton booster tasked with the launch of the satellite duo was 4.1 m (13.5 ft) in diameter along its second and third stages, with a first stage diameter of 7.4 m (24.3 ft). Overall height of the three stages of the Proton booster is 42.3 m (138.8 ft).

The first stage consists of a central tank containing the oxidizer surrounded by six outboard fuel tanks. Each fuel tank also carries one of the six RD-276 engines that provide first stage power. Total first stage vacuum-rated level thrust is 11.0 MN (2,500,000 lbf).

Of conventional cylindrical design, the second stage is powered by three RD-0210 engines plus one RD-0211 engine and develops a vacuum thrust of 2.4 MN (540,000 lbf).

Powered by one RD-0213 engine, the third stage develops thrust of 583 kN (131,000 lbf), and a four-nozzle vernier engine that produces thrust of 31 kN (7,000 lbf). Guidance, navigation, and control of the Proton M during operation of the first three stages is carried out by a triple redundant closed-loop digital avionics system mounted in the Proton’s third stage.

The Breeze-M upper stage is the Phase III variant, a recent upgrade which utilizes two new high-pressure tanks (80 liters) to replace six smaller tanks, along with the relocation of command instruments towards the centre – in order to mitigate shock loads when the additional propellant tank is being jettisoned.

It was a problem with that upper stage which resulted in the loss of the Ekspress-AM4 communications satellite in August, when the stage, otherwise known as the Briz-M, failed to insert the satellite into the correct transfer orbit due to a problem with the last of the mission profile burns.

This failure led to a delay for the ViaSat-1 mission, which was initially scheduled for September, prior to its successful launch – conducted by International Launch Services – on October 19.

(Images via Tsenki and Roscosmos).

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Fobos-Grunt:

With a mass of 13,500 kilograms, Fobos-Grunt is the largest planetary spacecraft ever built in the former Soviet Union and was to be the first sample return mission to the natural satellite of another planet, and the first such mission to be conducted by Russia.

The spacecraft’s primary mission was to conduct a sample-return effort from Mars’ larger natural satellite, Phobos – which is likely to be the first Martian destination for humans in the 2030s, to be used as a precursor to a mission to Mars itself.

Fobos-Grunt – which was also hosting China’s first Mars probe, Yinghuo-1 as a passenger – enjoyed a nominal launch via a Zenit-2 launch vehicle, which occurred at 02:16 local time on November 8 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

All launch events were nominal, until problems were revealed shortly after Fobos-Grunt had been set to perform an orbit-raising manoeuvre two and a half hours after lift-off, prior to a second burn 126 minutes later, which would have taken it into heliocentric orbit to begin its journey to Mars.

Both burns failed to materialize, resulting in the spacecraft’s current predicament of being stuck wandering around in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

There is now no hope of the spacecraft carrying out its mission to Phobos, despite a late boost when a level of communications were established, thanks to a modified dish on one of the European Space Agency (ESA) assets in Perth, Australia.

This was a great achievement on its own, as challenges associated with communicating with Fobos-Grunt during passes over ground stations included a potential blockage by the yet-to-be-used fuel tank of the low gain antennas.

This tank – located on the aft of the cruise stage – would be expended and released in the event of both burns being completed. It is understood the spacecraft was never designed to be commanded prior to these two burns.

With the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany passing on information gained by the Perth station to NPO Lavochkin, operator of the mission on behalf of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, the ultimate goal was to gain telemetry from the spacecraft to check its health, prior to a potential route to send operational commands.

With very short windows of opportunity to send communications to Fobos-Grunt as it raced overhead in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), controllers only had a matter of minutes to send commands, which related to switching on the the spacecraft’s transmitter and send back a confirmation signal.

Some telemetry was gained, along it was understood to be incomplete and “garbled”.  Russian media also reported that a second dish – at the Baikonur Cosmodrome – had made a level of contact with the spacecraft, although this was believed to be only a short term success.

While it appears clear that no useful commands were successfully received during the short period contact was established, the spacecraft soon went silent again, leading to ESA officially giving up after numerous attempts to talk to Fobos-Grunt without success.

“In consultation and agreement with Phobos-Grunt mission managers, ESA engineers will end tracking support. Efforts to send commands to and receive data from the Russian Mars mission via ESA ground stations have not succeeded; no response has been seen from the satellite,” noted an official ESA release.

“ESA teams remain available to assist the Phobos-Grunt mission if indicated by any change in the situation.”

As such, the spacecraft’s fate now appears certain, as much as challenges remain in knowing when exactly the spacecraft will return to Earth for a destructive re-entry.

This sad event will be of great interest, given the spacecraft’s 13,500 kg of mass, most of which is made up of the highly toxic propellants unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) and dinitrogen tetroxide (DTO). Its mass is double that of NASA’s defunct Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS), which re-entered in September of this year.

At the time, NASA went to great lengths to emphasize that even if any surviving elements of UARS’ hardware had reached the ground, the chances of it being a threat to the human population were tiny.

The uncontrolled entry did find its way into the mainstream media despite NASA’s attempts to show it wasn’t a major threat, backed up by a Special Safety Topic review by NASA, which looked into the hazards posed by space hardware fragmentation during re-entry, with the aim to apply further mitigation to any potential risks from hardware breaking up and surviving entry – in turn threatening human life on the ground.

In the end, the satellite – which was originally launched on Shuttle Discovery during STS-48 – re-entered over water.

Notably, no major items of hardware on Fobos-Grunt have been listed as potentially surviving entry, while the aluminium tanks containing the large amount of propellant mass are likely to be some of the initial hardware to succumb to the destructive forces of entry.

The spacecraft’s orbit can be observed via amateur and professional groups, allowing for a level of modelling to be carried out on its decaying orbit, although – providing no control is established – the exact entry location of the probe won’t be predicted until shortly before the event.

It is currently estimated that the entry will occur sometime in January of next year, handing Russia a sad record of all of its 19 missions to the Red Planet since the 1960s resulting in failure.

(Images: Via Roscosmos and ESA)

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Successful Launch:

Glonass is the Russian version to the US Global Positioning System (GPS), which several nations are building for the purpose of independence from the American-controlled system.

Like the US GPS system, Glonass can be used by both military and civilian entities, and is designed for both military and civilian uses. This Glonass satellite was designated as number 46, and a Block-46 design – which was separated from the Upper Stage three hours into the mission.

The recent Soyuz-based successes are vitally important for the under-pressure Roscosmos, following the Progress M-12M failure, which grounded the Soyuz fleet.

Russia has since enjoyed a successful Progress mission (M-13M), safely launched and landed their Soyuz TMA spacecraft (TMA-22 – up, TMA-02M down).

However, hope has been lost for Fobos-Grunt’s mission to the Martian moon of Phobos, despite last week’s positive news relating to a level of communications with the spacecraft via ESA’s Perth-based assets. Even if the spacecraft can be restored – pending successful translations of encrypted telemetry – the window is now closed on its primary mission.

Updates on this week’s communication efforts with the spacecraft are pending – *refer to this live update thread for the latest*.

Soyuz 2-1B:

The Soyuz-2-1 rocket is a descendent of the R-7 Semyorka, the world’s first intercontinental ballistic missile. The R-7 was designed by Sergei Korolev, and first flew in 1957. A modified version was used to launch the first satellite, Sputnik 1, on 4 October of that year.

The R-7 formed the basis for the Luna, Vostok, Voskhod, Molniya and Soyuz families of rockets, and to date all Soviet and Russian manned spaceflights have been launched using rockets derived from the R-7.

The Soyuz, which first flew in 1966, was a modification of the Voskhod rocket featuring an upgraded and lighter telemetry system, and more fuel efficient engines. It was initially used to launch only Soyuz spacecraft; however with the introduction of the Soyuz-U in 1973 it began to launch other satellites as well.

The Soyuz-U, which remains in service, is the most-flown orbital launch system ever developed, having made around 750 flights to date, plus around 90 more in the Soyuz-U2 configuration optimised to use synthetic propellant.

The Soyuz-2 was developed from the older Soyuz models, and features digital flight control systems and modernised engines. It first flew in 2004, and this is its twelfth launch.

Two variants are currently in service; the Soyuz-2-1a, and the Soyuz-2-1b which features an RD-0124 third stage engine which provides additional thrust. The RD-0124 was declared operational on 3 May 2011.

A third configuration, the Soyuz-2-1v, is currently under development and is expected to make its maiden flight next year. It features an NK-33 engine in place of the RD-108A used on the core stages of the other configurations, and does not include the strapon boosters used by other configurations.

The Soyuz-2 forms the basis for the Soyuz-ST rocket, which made its maiden flight from Kourou in French Guiana this year. The Soyuz-ST is optimised to fly from Kourou, and also incorporates a flight termination system and a modified telemetry system.

The launch of the Soyuz-ST carried two Galileo IOV-M1 satellites into orbit.

The core stage of the Soyuz-2, the Blok-A, is powered by a single RD-108A engine. This is augmented for the first two minutes of flight by four boosters, each of which is powered by an RD-107A engine. The Fregat Upper Stage, is powered by an S5.98M engine, which uses unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine as propellant and nitrogen tetroxide as an oxidiser.

The Fregat first flew in 2000, and has been used on Soyuz-U, Soyuz-FG, Soyuz-2 and Zenit rockets.

(Image: Mil.ru and Starsem)

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Fobos-Grunt – which was also hosting China’s first Mars probe, Yinghuo-1 as a passenger – enjoyed a nominal launch via a Zenit-2 launch vehicle, which occurred at 02:16 local time on November 8 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Fobos-Grunt was launched with a primary mission of conducting a sample-return effort from Mars’ larger natural satellite, Phobos. The spacecraft was designed as the third dedicated mission to Phobos, the previous two missions, Fobos-1 and Fobos-2, were launched in 1988 by the Soviet Union. However, both failed.

In total, all of the previous 16 Russian missions to the Red Planet since the 1960s have failed – the latter of which was the Mars-96 spacecraft, which saw its mission ended prematurely in a launch failure.

With a mass of 13,500 kilograms, Fobos-Grunt is the largest planetary spacecraft ever built in the former Soviet Union and was to be the first sample return mission to the natural satellite of another planet, and the first such mission to be conducted by Russia.

The two-stage Zenit lofted Fobos-Grunt into orbit via the first stage’s single RD-171M engine and second stage’s RD-8 vernier engine and RD-120 main engine – both of which performed nominally. Following shutdown of the second stage main engine, Fobos-Grunt separated, and solid rocket motors on the second stage fired to increase the separation distance between the spent stage and the payload.

Fobos-Grunt was set to perform an orbit-raising manoeuvre two and a half hours after launch, prior to a second burn 126 minutes later, which would have taken it into heliocentric orbit to begin its journey to Mars. Both burns failed to materialize.

The reason for the lack of a burn from the cruise stage – derived from the Fregat stage, powered by an S5.98M engine using unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine as propellant and nitrogen tetroxide as an oxidiser – is still not fully understood.

The lack of fault information is mainly due to the failed efforts by Russian controllers to re-establish a link with the spacecraft, in order to receive vital telemetry, or indeed send commands to aid such a process.

Among the challenges associated with communicating with Fobos-Grunt during passes over ground stations was believed to be a potential blockage by the yet-to-be-used fuel tank of the low gain antennas. This tank – located on the aft of the cruise stage – would be expended and released in the event of both burns being completed. It is understood the spacecraft was never designed to be commanded prior to these two burns.

Fobos-Grunt – The Breakthrough:

However, on Tuesday evening, a breakthrough was achieved with the help of European Space Agency (ESA) assets.

Reported by the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany early on Wednesday, contact – the first observed since Fobos-Grunt’s launch – was received by ESA’s tracking station at Perth, Australia at 2025 GMT on Tuesday.

“Upon request from NPO Lavochkin, operator of the mission on behalf of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, ESA agreed to do its utmost to attempt contact using the Agency’s ground station network,” noted an ESA statement on the breakthrough, with the attempts including modifications to the 15m dish.

It was the modification to the dish, a last gasp effort to establish a link with Fobos-Grunt, which broke the silence, after previous attempts – including those of ESA – to communicate with the spacecraft. However, this initial success did not include the downlink of telemetry.

“Starting on November 9, and in close coordination with Russian engineers, ESA made almost daily attempts to contact Phobos-Grunt using numerous configurations and radio link modes, but to no avail. A major problem was that the spacecraft’s orbit was not accurately known, whereas ground stations normally require very accurate position information for pointing due to the antenna size,” added ESA.

“In the past few days, ESA’s 15 m-diameter Perth dish was modified by the addition of a ‘feedhorn’ antenna at the side of the main dish so as to transmit very low-power signals over a wide angle in the hopes of triggering a response from the satellite.

“The transmit power was reduced in part because the receiver on Phobos-Grunt is optimised to receive only very weak signals when deep in space. Perth is ideally located because the satellite’s solar panels were illuminated by sunlight when overhead, giving a power boost to its systems.

With very short windows of opportunity to send communications to Fobos-Grunt as it raced overhead in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), controllers only had a matter of minutes to send commands, which related to switching on the the spacecraft’s transmitter and send a confirmation signal back..

“Owing to its very low altitude, it was expected that our station would only have Phobos-Grunt in view for six to ten minutes during each orbit, and the fast overhead pass introduced large variations in the signal frequency,” said Wolfgang Hell, the Phobos-Grunt Service Manager at ESOC.

During the Tuesday evening attempt, this was seen to be a success – leading to the received data being transmitted from Perth to Russian mission controllers, via ESOC for analysis.

Vitally, this successful process raised hopes of being able to replicate the link, which also proved to be successful on a later pass, as confirmation of a successful downlink of abbreviated telemetry was noted.

With numerous passes, opportunities to learn more about the spacecraft’s health have since increased, such as reports the flight computer may be switching in and out of safe mode, when out of the line of sight with the sun.

Following the Perth dish’s success, it may also be possible to replicate the method employed at another ground station – potentially at ESA’s Maspalomas Station, located at the Canary Islands, which hosts a 15-metre antenna with reception in S- and X-Band and transmission in S-band.

As far as the potential recovery efforts, it is unlikely the spacecraft can be sent on its primary mission to Phobos, given its window of opportunity has now elapsed – at least from a complete mission standpoint. It may be possible to carry out an alternative mission profile, but no official notes of such evaluations have been released.

Continued commanding link successes would also likely lead to a level of control for any extended stay in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), or for a controlled re-entry.

UPDATE: Further communications were made between Wednesday and Thursday, although the telemetry is understood to be incomplete and “garbled” – requiring a large amount of work to gain data from.

There are many conflicting reports, mainly based around the quality of the telemtry and how much data has been gathered. Russian media have reported that a second dish – at the Baikonur Cosmodrome – has been in contact with the spacecraft on Thursday.

With several passes per day, this is a developing story. Refer to the live update pages. Additional notes of interest will be added to this article.

(Images: Via Roscosmos and ESA)

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Soyuz TMA-02M background:

Launched to the ISS on 7th June, with a docking to the Mini Research Module-1 (MRM-1) on 9th June, the crew of Soyuz TMA-02M were the second to fly on the new digital Soyuz, and the last Soyuz crew to fly in the Space Shuttle era. Thus, when the crew of Soyuz TMA-02M return to Earth, they will become the last ever people to have flown inside a Space Shuttle during their current space mission.

Soyuz TMA-02M was originally scheduled to return to Earth on 16th November, but that date was pushed back to the 22nd November in order to allow for an unusually short six day handover with the crew of Soyuz TMA-22/28S, which docked to the ISS on 16th November.

The crews of Soyuz TMA-02M and Soyuz TMA-22 were originally scheduled to fly in space together for around two months, however since the launch of Soyuz TMA-22 was delayed from late September to 14th November due to August’s Progress M-12M launch failure, the short handover period became necessary.

It was not possible to delay the landing of Soyuz TMA-22 past the 22nd due to adverse weather and lighting conditions at the Kazakhstan landing site. Therefore, in order to aid in the handover, the crew of Soyuz TMA-02M have made a series of videos explaining the current status of the ISS to the Soyuz TMA-22 crew.

While the docking of Soyuz TMA-22 to MRM-2 last Wednesday temporarily increased the ISS to six crewmembers, tonight’s Soyuz TMA-02M undocking from MRM-1 again reduced the ISS back down to three crewmembers for around a month.

Click here for ISS News Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/iss/

Undocking & landing procedure:

After spending the last five and-a-half months in space, the crew of Soyuz TMA-02M, consisting of Russian cosmonaut and Soyuz commander Sergey Volkov, US astronaut Mike Fossum, and Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, entered their Soyuz capsule, docked at the MRM-1 Nadir port, at around 7:45 PM GMT tonight.

The docking probe hatch on the Soyuz was then closed by the Soyuz TMA-02M crew, and the docking drogue hatch on the ISS/MRM-1 was closed by the ISS crew. Prior to hatch closure, BZV docking clamps were removed, and the hatch seals were wiped down to ensure that no debris will impede a good pressure seal.

Following hatch closure, the Soyuz TMA-02M crew donned their Sokol launch and entry suits, entered the Descent Module (SA), and closed the hatch between the SA and Orbital Module (BO). At 10:05 PM GMT, ISS attitude control was handed over from US Momentum Management, which uses Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs), to Russian Motion Control System (MCS), which uses thrusters.

Following ISS maneuver to the undocking attitude, which saw the underside of the ISS to which Soyuz TMA-02M was docked positioned to face the negative side of the Velocity Vector, Soyuz TMA-02M undocked from MRM-1 at 11:00 PM GMT.

Following the undocking, Soyuz TMA-02M conducted stationkeeping with the ISS at 50m in order to perform a unique test of the Soyuz’ RODK (Manual Attitude Control by Digital Mode) at 11:05 PM GMT.

This test was necessary since Soyuz TMA-02M is only the second in the new “digital” TMA-M series of Soyuzes.

The test was very similar to the one preformed during the Soyuz TMA-01M/24S undocking back on 16th March, although that test included both RODK and ROAK (Manual Attitude Control by Analogue Mode), and used ammeters to measure current on the Neptun-ME control panel due to a failed display.

Soyuz TMA-02M, however, only tested the RODK, but also tested in response to the performance anomaly of DPO-B rendezvous & docking thruster #14 observed during the descent of Soyuz TMA-01M in March.

Soyuz TMA-01M thruster 14 experienced a thrust underperformance of 40-60% of nominal value during descent, but according to NASA, it “had no impact on the nominal descent which uses the SKD main engine. Updates were now introduced in the control system for the event of an SKD failure during the execution of the de-orbit burn”.

The procedure for the RODK test was slightly different for Soyuz TMA-02M, since it had undocked from MRM-1, whereas Soyuz TMA-01M undocked from MRM-2. As Soyuzes at MRM-1 are docked at a 40 degree angle to the station’s axis, a roll menuver of 40 degrees will be required after initiation of stationkeeping in order to place Soyuz TMA-02M in the same orientation to the ISS as Soyuz TMA-01M was when it undocked from MRM-2. The RODK test occurred using the same procedure as before.

Following completion of the RODK test, a separation burn was performed, and roughly two and a half hours later, Soyuz TMA-02M conducted the four minute de-orbit burn at 1:32 AM GMT Tuesday morning.

Tri-module separation between the BO, SA and Instrumentation/Propulsion Module (PAO) will occurred at 1:59 AM GMT, followed by entry interface at 2:02 AM GMT. Eight minutes later, parachutes deployed at 2:10 AM GMT, followed fifteen minutes later by touchdown at 2:25 AM GMT in Kazakhstan, location 51 degrees North, 67 degrees 10 minutes East.

Following crew extraction from the descent module, they were flown to a nearby airfield by helicopter, whereupon the Soyuz TMA-02M crew will part ways for the first time in nearly six months, with Sergey Volkov boarding an aircraft back to Star City in Moscow, and Mike Fossum & Satoshi Furukawa boarding a “direct return” aircraft back to Ellington Field in Houston, with Mike Fossum arriving back at his Houston home roughly 24 hours after landing, in time for Thanksgiving with his family.

Expedition 30:

With the undocking of Soyuz TMA-02M, Expedition 29 will end and Expedition 30 will begin, with American astronaut Dan Burbank in command of the ISS following the change of command ceremony between Fossum and Burbank that occurred yesterday.

The three-person Expedition 30 crew, consisting of Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov & Anatoly Ivanishin, will continue the station’s rigorous program of scientific utilization until they are joined on 23rd December by the Soyuz TMA-03M crew, consisting of American astronaut Don Pettit, European astronaut André Kuipers, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, who will launch from Kazakhstan on 21st December.

The arrival of Soyuz TMA-03M, at the MRM-1 port to be vacated tonight by Soyuz TMA-02M, will place the ISS back at six crewmembers and bring an end to the disruptions caused by August’s Progress M-12M crash, as much as last week’s successful Soyuz TMA-22 docking has ended concerns of a de-crewing of the station.

Looking ahead to 2012, the Expedition 30 crew will continue scientific research aboard the station, and prepare to receive the first commercial cargo vehicles aboard the station.

(Images: NASA – more images will be added during the events of crew return) (NSF and L2 are providing full future level coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS/CRS/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles.)

(Click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/ - to view how you can access L2)

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Fobos-Grunt Mission:

Fobos-Grunt is an ambitious sample-return mission to Mars’ larger natural satellite, Phobos. With a mass of 13,500 kilograms, Fobos-Grunt is the largest planetary spacecraft ever built in the former Soviet Union and was to be the first sample return mission to the natural satellite of another planet, and the first such mission to be conducted by Russia.

In fact, Russia has enjoyed no luck with missions to the Red Planet, with all the previous 16 missions since the 1960s failing – the latter of which was the Mars-96 spacecraft, which saw its mission ended prematurely in a launch failure.

Fobos-Grunt – which was also hosting China’s first Mars probe, Yinghuo-1 as a passenger – enjoyed a nominal launch via a Zenit-2 launch vehicle, which occurred at 02:16 local time on Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

The two-stage Zenit lofted Fobos-Grunt into orbit via the first stage’s single RD-171M engine and second stage’s RD-8 vernier engine and RD-120 main engine – both performing as advertised.

Following shutdown of the second stage main engine, Fobos-Grunt separated, and solid rocket motors on the second stage fired to increase the separation distance between the spent stage and the payload.

It is understood the spacecraft did successfully deploy its solar arrays, as much as that has yet to be fully confirmed, although the mission’s nominal milestones – at least from an official standpoint – then failed to materialize.

As to exactly what went wrong, very few details have been released by official sources at Roscosmos, resulting in the Russian media mainly using unnamed sources, while observers around the planet attempt to piece together the state of play with the spacecraft.

As far as the mission schedule, Fobos-Grunt was set to perform an orbit-raising manoeuvre two and a half hours after launch, prior to a second burn 126 minutes later, which would have taken it into heliocentric orbit to begin its journey to Mars. However, problems were noted when observers (satobs.org/seesat) claimed Fobos-Grunt was in the same orbit after the point the first burn should have been completed.

The reason for the lack of a burn from the cruise stage – derived from the Fregat stage, powered by an S5.98M engine using unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine as propellant and nitrogen tetroxide as an oxidiser – is believed to be related to a fault with the flight computer going into safe mode, but no official cause has been confirmed at this time.

What is known is Russian controllers have been attempting to re-establish a link with the spacecraft, in order to send commands. Initially it was assumed a window of only three days would be available for this effort, prior to the spacecraft’s batteries running out.

However, Roscosmos have noted that the “adjusted analysis of the orbital parameters and energy supply on board showed that these commands must be issued within two weeks.”

Among the challenges controllers may be tasked with, when trying to communicate with Fobos-Grunt during passes over ground stations, is a potential blockage by the yet-to-be-used fuel tank of the low gain antennas. This tank – located on the aft of the cruise stage – would be expended and released in the event of both burns being completed.

It is understood the spacecraft was never designed to be commanded prior to these two burns.

Should the two weeks pass without a successful resolution, the spacecraft’s orbit will eventually decay to the point it will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. Estimates on when that will occur range from between the latter part of this month, and the beginning of January.

Should controllers successfully re-establish a command path, Fobos-Grunt will take eleven months to reach Mars, performing three course corrections along the way. Orbital insertion was planned for 9 October next year, when the spacecraft would be entering an orbit with a periareion of about 800 kilometres, and an apoareion of around 80,000 kilometres.

Following insertion, Yinghuo-1 would then separate from Fobos-Grunt and begin its mission. By January 2013, Fobos-Grunt would be expected to be in a 10,000 kilometre circular orbit around Mars, and would enter a quasi-orbit around Phobos in early February, before landing on the satellite later that month.

In either late February or March, the spacecraft’s return module would lift back off from Phobos, and return to heliocentric orbit for the journey back to Earth. It would be expected to arrive at Earth in August 2014.

Interest In Phobos:

This moon is of interest not only for the Russians, but also for NASA – as seen in the post-Augustine Commission “Flexible Path” overviews – which remains the only expansive review into a Mars mission outline of late.

Based around the well-known, but undefined main goal for NASA’s Human Space Flight program, the Flexible Path approach cites Phobos as an initial target, ahead of a crewed mission to the Red Planet itself.

Utilizing several Space Launch Systems (SLS) – mainly to loft the large segments of a Mars Transport Vehicle (MTV) into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for assembly – a crew would be expected to undertake a mission of up to 650 days.

“A human Mars Orbit/Phobos Mission represents an intermediate step between human exploration missions in near-Earth space and human missions to explore the surface of Mars,” opened the expansive section on the manned missions to Mars/Phobos.

“Key features could include demonstration of in-space hardware elements designed for Mars missions while accomplishing scientific and exploration objectives both at Mars and on Phobos.”

Such “short-stay” missions range from 550-650 days, with 30 to 40 days in the vicinity of Mars. Over 95 percent of the total mission time is spent in the deep-space interplanetary environment with the balance spent in the vicinity of Mars.

The reason Phobos is the likely first target of a Mars mission relates to the additional challenges of entering Mars’ atmosphere, but also includes relevance to the science collection efforts being simulated by the missions taking place this year on Earth, such as the international Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP).

The science-rich moon was also a key part of the presentation, which in turn shows why the Russians had put so much effort into Fobos-Grunt – not least because of the sample-return nature of the mission.

“The mystery of the origin of Phobos can be resolved, and its evolution since formation can be investigated by field geologists on site in contact with a larger team back on Earth. As a possible D-type (organics-rich with possible interior ice) asteroid, it offers science beyond what is readily available in the NEO population, and can shed light on the objects that delivered the initial inventory of water and organics to the surfaces of Earth and Mars,” the presentation continued.

“Returned samples would contain a record frozen very early in the formation of the solar system. The work would benefit significantly from a conjunction-class mission (540 days vs. 40 days at the target), since Phobos is a large and diverse body.

“Phobos has been a collector of ejected Martian surface material for billions of years. That material is a record of the history of early Mars that may not even be preserved on Mars itself due to weathering. Martian material should be readily recognizable by color for collection. These samples would be an important supplement to samples collected directly from the surface of Mars.”

Such crewed mission for NASA is unlikely until the 2030s, meaning robotic missions – such as Fobos-Grunt if returned to health, and NASA’s upcoming Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) launch – will continue to be the mainstay of mankind’s knowledge base on the Red Planet, whilst providing precursor missions for what will be biggest exploration challenge for the human race.

(Images: Via Roscosmos and L2 content. To join L2, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/)

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Phobos Mission:

The name Fobos-Grunt, “Фобос-Грунт” in Russian, means “Phobos Soil”, although it has frequently been mistranslated as “Phobos Grunt”, even by the Russian Space Agency, Roskosmos, itself. Yinghuo-1, “萤火” in simplified Chinese, means “Firefly”.

Fobos-Grunt is an ambitious sample-return mission to Mars’ larger natural satellite, Phobos. Discovered by Asaph Hall in August 1877, Phobos has a diameter of approximately 22 kilometres, and orbits Mars once every seven hours and forty minutes. Fobos-Grunt is the third dedicated mission to Phobos, the previous two missions, Fobos-1 and Fobos-2, were launched in 1988 by the Soviet Union, however both failed.

Fobos-2 did return some images, one of which formed the basis of a conspiracy theory that the probe detected an alien spacecraft. The theory was quickly dismissed, and has little credibility.

With a mass of 13,500 kilograms, Fobos-Grunt is the largest planetary spacecraft ever built in the former Soviet Union, however this mass includes a large amount of fuel, since the spacecraft will be deployed into low Earth orbit, and will have to perform its own injections into heliocentric and areocentric orbits. It is the first sample return mission to the natural satellite of another planet, and the first such mission to be conducted by Russia.

If the mission is successful, it will be the first successful Russian planetary exploration mission, following the loss of the Mars-96 spacecraft in a launch failure.

Fobos-Grunt is carrying 20 instruments. The Gas Analytic Package, or GAP, will conduct gas chromatography of the soil of Phobos, and look for organic compounds. The Manipulator Instruments Set will study the composition if the soil through spectroscopy. A large array of other spectrometers are also aboard the spacecraft, including a gamma-ray spectrometer, a neutron spectrometer, an infrared spectrometer, a laser mass spectrometer, an ionic mass spectrometer, a visible optical spectrometer and an infrared optical spectrometer. These will study different elements of the soil’s composition.

The Thermal Sensor will study layers of rock, to investigate their thermal properties. The Long Wave Penetrating Radar will be used along with a seismometer to study the internal structure of Phobos. Two cameras are also present, a navigation camera which will be used to aid with the spacecraft’s landing, and for mapping, and a panoramic camera to produce detailed images of the moon.

Six of the instruments aboard the spacecraft will be used to study the spacecraft’s environment and Mars itself, rather than Phobos. Two dust counters are aboard the spacecraft, with one being used to detect micrometeoroids, and the other to study the dispersal of dust in Phobos’ orbit. The TIMM-2 spectrometer will be used to look for trace gasses in the atmosphere of Mars, the Plasma Science Package will investigate the effects of the Mars and Phobos and the Solar wind upon each other. The two remaining experiments are a Solar sensor, and the Ultra-Stable Oscillator.

Yinghuo-1 is the first Chinese mission beyond the Earth-Moon system. It is a small spacecraft with a mass of 110 kilograms, and is expected to operate for around a year upon reaching Mars. It carries electron and ion analysers, a mass spectrometer, a magnetometer, a radio-occultation sounder and two cameras. Its ionospheric experiments will be conducted in conjunction with those aboard Fobos-Grunt.

The cruise stage which will propel Fobos-Grunt from an initial low Earth orbit with a perigee of 207 kilometres and an apogee of 347 kilometres into orbit around Mars is derived from the Fregat stage. Fregat has been used since 2000 as an upper stage for Soyuz-U, Soyuz-FG, Soyuz-2 and Zenit rockets, and is powered by an S5.98M engine using unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine as propellant and nitrogen tetroxide as an oxidiser.

The launch of Fobos-Grunt is the seventy sixth launch of a Zenit rocket, and its thirty eighth launch in a two-stage configuration.

Development of the Zenit rocket began in 1976, with a one-stage version intended to be used as boosters on the Energia rocket, and a two stage version, the Zenit-2, seen as a replacement for the R-7 and Tsyklon families of rockets. After a delayed development programme due to problems maintaining the combustion stability of the RD-170 series engines, the Zenit-2 made its maiden flight on 13 April 1985; however the suborbital test launch was unsuccessful.

The second launch, conducted on 21 June 1985, was successful, with the vehicle overperforming and ending up in low Earth orbit, despite only a suborbital flight having been planned. To date, this remains the only recorded case of an object being accidentally placed into orbit. On 22 October 1985, the Zenit-2 made its first intentional orbital launch carrying Kosmos 1697, a mass simulator of a Tselina-2 electronic signals intelligence satellite.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Zenit became a Ukrainian rocket, and as such Russia decided against mass-producing it as a Soyuz replacement, and it was phased out of use for military launches; however it has found some success in the commercial launch market.

In September 1999, the first commercial launch of a Zenit rocket was conducted, when a Zenit-2 lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying twelve Globalstar communications satellites. That launch was unsuccessful, however six months later the Zenit-3SL, a three-stage variant dedicated to commercial launches, made its maiden flight.

Operated by Sea Launch, and launched from the Odyssey mobile platform positioned at the equator, the Zenit-3SL consists of a Zenit-2S, a modified version of the Zenit-2, with a modified Blok DM upper stage. To date, thirty one Zenit-3SL launches have been made from Odyssey by Sea Launch, the most recent occurring this September with the Atlantic Bird 7 spacecraft.

Following the initial success of Sea Launch, a subsidiary, Land Launch, was set up to offer launches from Baikonur. The Zenit-3SLB, a three-stage variant optimised to launch from Baikonur, made its maiden flight in April 2008, carrying the Amos 3 satellite. Five Land Launch missions have been conducted to date.

By 2007, the stock of original Zenit-2 rockets appeared to have been depleted, and the last Tselina-2 satellite was launched by a new variant, the Zenit-2M, which featured improvements developed for the Sea Launch and Land Launch programmes, including uprated engines, modernised guidance and computer systems, and weight reductions.

The two-stage Zenit-2M, which is also known as the Zenit-2SB, is offered by Land Launch as the Zenit-2SLB, however a commercial launch is yet to be ordered or conducted. The Zenit-3F, which is also known as the Zenit-3SLBF and the Zenit-2SB/Fregat, is an alternative three-stage configuration which first flew in January, and incorporates a Fregat upper stage in place of the Blok-DM used on the Zenit-3SLB. It has made two launches so far, carrying the Elektro-L No.1 weather satellite, and the Spektr-R astronomy satellite, into orbit.

The naming of Zenit rockets has caused some confusion, with many configurations being known by several names, and the designations painted on the rocket itself often not matching those used in press releases and news articles in the leadup to the launch.

Fobos-Grunt was launched by a rocket which has been identified as a both a Zenit-2SB and a Zenit-2FG, and which is to all intents and purposes the second flight of the Zenit-2M configuration, albeit with a different payload fairing and adaptor. Of the two ‘official’ designations, the former is used to identify variants of the Zenit-2S which have been modernised and optimised for launch from Baikonur, whilst the latter appears to refer to modifications made to the rocket to accommodate the Fobos-Grunt spacecraft.

The Zenit which was used to launch Fobos-Grunt is the two-stage Zenit-2SB41, with the digits ’41′ referring to the variations on the standard Zenit-2SB configuration for this mission. The Zenit-2M configuration with a normal payload is designated Zenit-2SB40, whilst the configurations used as the first two stages of the three-stage Zenit-3SLB and 3F configurations are designated the Zenit-2SB60 and 2SB80 respectively.

Based on the general flight profile for a two-stage Zenit launch to low Earth orbit, the first stage’s single RD-171M engine ignited when the countdown reached zero, and about 3.9 seconds later liftoff was initiated, with the Zenit beginning its climb away from Baikonur. Ten second after T-0, the rocket began a roll to the correct flight azimuth, and a second later it pitched over to attain the necessary attitude for its ascent. The roll manoeuvre was completed about 14 seconds after ignition.

A minute into the flight, the vehicle passed through the area of maximum dynamic pressure, and fifty three second later it reached peak axial acceleration, at which point the RD-171M throttled down to half of its rated thrust for nineteen seconds. Two minutes and 25 seconds after launch, the second stage’s RD-8 vernier engine ignited. Two seconds later, the first stage burnt out, with separation occurring a further two seconds after that. Ignition of the RD-120 main engine of the second stage came six seconds after staging.

Separation of the payload fairing occurred when the atmospheric density outside the vehicle was sufficiently thin that it would not cause damage to the spacecraft – something which varies depending upon the payload. However, for a generic mission described in the Land Launch Users’ Manual, separation occurs about five seconds short of five minutes into the flight. The end of the second stage’s burn depends entirely upon payload requirements, specifically its mass and target orbit.

Following shutdown of the second stage main engine, the vernier may continue to burn for some time. Once they had been shut down, Fobos-Grunt separated, and solid rocket motors on the second stage fired to increase the separation distance between the spent stage and the payload.

Problem On Orbit:

Two and a half hours after launch, Fobos-Grunt was set to perform an orbit-raising manoeuvre, prior to a second burn 126 minutes later, which would have taken it into heliocentric orbit to begin its journey to Mars. Both burns failed.

Believed to be related to a problem with the flight computer, which is now understood to be in safe mode, Russian officials told Interfax that they have three days to resolve the software issue before the battery power on the spacecraft runs out.

If the problem is software related, controllers may be able to upload corrective lines of code. However, if the problem is hardware related, the mission will likely be lost.

See live coverage link for live updates.

Should The Mission Survive:

Fobos-Grunt will take eleven months to reach Mars, performing three course corrections along the way. Orbital insertion is planned for 9 October next year, when the spacecraft will enter an orbit with a periareion of about 800 kilometres, and an apoareion of around 80,000 kilometres.

Following insertion, Yinghuo-1 will separate from Fobos-Grunt and begin its mission. By January 2013, Fobos-Grunt will be in a 10,000 kilometre circular orbit around Mars, and will enter a quasi-orbit around Phobos in early February, before landing on the satellite later that month. In either late February or March, the spacecraft’s return module will lift back off from Phobos, and return to heliocentric orbit for the journey back to Earth. It is expected to arrive at Earth in August 2014.

The Zenit was launched from Pad 1 of Area 45 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The first Zenit launch complex to be built, Pad 1 has been used for all but two of the Zenit launches conducted from Baikonur (excluding those launched as part of Energia rockets). The launch of Fobos-Grunt is the forty fourth to use the pad, and the forty sixth launch in total from Area 45, which was first used in 1985 for the Zenit-2′s maiden flight.

Area 45 originally consisted of two pads, with the other pad, 45/2, being first used on 22 May 1990 for the launch of Kosmos 2082, or Tselina-2 No.9. The second and last launch from Pad 2 occurred on 4 October 1990, with Tselina-2 No.10. Following a first stage engine failure three or five seconds after launch, the rocket fell back into the flame trench and exploded. The explosion caused a metal structure with a mass of 1,000 tonnes to be blown 20 metres into the air, blew panels off the pad’s service tower, damaged lighting masts several hundred metres away, and scattered debris within a three kilometre radius. The pad was never rebuilt.

Wednesday’s launch is the first of two launches towards Mars during this year’s launch window. Launch opportunities for missions to Mars occur for about two months every 780 days, depending on the mass of the payload and the performance of the rocket launching it. The two month period is centred around the date at which the Earth and Mars are positioned such that a minimum-energy transfer can be made between the two planets. This repeats every 780 days due to the synodic period of the two planets.

Due to construction delays, Fobos-Grunt missed the last launch window, which occurred in late 2009, when it was expected to be launched. The Mars Science Laboratory is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket at the end of the month, marking the second launch of the window.

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Glonass-M Launch:

Glonass is the Russian version to the US Global Positioning System (GPS), which several nations are building for the purpose of independence from the American-controlled system.

Like the US GPS system, Glonass can be used by both military and civilian entities, and is designed for both military and civilian uses.

The three satellites are numbers 43, 44, and 45 – following on from the recent launch of the number 42 Kosmos satellite – a Blok-45S design – which was successfully launched via a Soyuz 2-1B launch vehicle from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.

The latest trio of satellites were individually delivered to Baikonur over a period of a few weeks, starting with number 43 in late September.

The launch was then delayed several times from its original October 30 target, with the latest – a one day delay – relating to an unspecified technical issue. However, lift off on Friday was successful, ahead of what was four planned burns of the Breeze-M upper stage, prior to the release of the new trio around 18:41 GMT.

The Proton booster tasked with the launch of the satellite trio was 4.1 m (13.5 ft) in diameter along its second and third stages, with a first stage diameter of 7.4 m (24.3 ft). Overall height of the three stages of the Proton booster is 42.3 m (138.8 ft).

The first stage consists of a central tank containing the oxidizer surrounded by six outboard fuel tanks. Each fuel tank also carries one of the six RD-276 engines that provide first stage power. Total first stage vacuum-rated level thrust is 11.0 MN (2,500,000 lbf).

Of conventional cylindrical design, the second stage is powered by three RD-0210 engines plus one RD-0211 engine and develops a vacuum thrust of 2.4 MN (540,000 lbf).

Powered by one RD-0213 engine, the third stage develops thrust of 583 kN (131,000 lbf), and a four-nozzle vernier engine that produces thrust of 31 kN (7,000 lbf). Guidance, navigation, and control of the Proton M during operation of the first three stages is carried out by a triple redundant closed-loop digital avionics system mounted in the Proton’s third stage.

The Breeze-M upper stage is the Phase III variant, a recent upgrade which utilizes two new high-pressure tanks (80 liters) to replace six smaller tanks, along with the relocation of command instruments towards the centre – in order to mitigate shock loads when the additional propellant tank is being jettisoned.

It was a problem with that upper stage which resulted in the loss of the Ekspress-AM4 communications satellite in August – another Russian government mission – when the stage, otherwise known as the Briz-M, failed to insert the satellite into the correct transfer orbit due to a problem with the last of the mission profile burns.

This failure led to a delay for the ViaSat-1 mission, which was initially scheduled for September, prior to its successful launch – conducted by International Launch Services – on October 19.

With this week’s successful launch and docking of the Progress M13M/45P via the Russian Soyuz launch vehicle, paving the way for the next crewed Soyuz TMA launch later this month, the Russian fleet are closing in on a full return to nominal operations.

(Images via Roscosmos).

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