Friday, January 2, 2015
Thursday, January 1, 2015
NuStar
2012-031A
NuStar would be the first mission to fly a focussing telescope in space for energies in the 8-80 keV range. It will survey this energy band for X-ray emission from quasars and Galactic black hole binaries, and obtain spectra of hard X-ray emission from supernova remnants and study the spectral lines created by nuclear transitions which dominate this spectral range. The mission is led by Fiona Harrison (Caltech).
Hex Cylinder + boom 1.1m dia 1.5m high 3.9m across bus+1 panel (6.8m across bus + 2 panels) and 11.1m with mast deployed. Optics outer dia 0.38m.
The NuSTAR Small Explorer mission has been reinstated and is now scheduled for launch in 2011. NuSTAR, led by Caltech's Fiona Harrison, was cancelled last year due to budget problems, but NASA science mission directorate leader Alan Stern has squeezed out enough money to allow the restart, alleviating a drought in future high energy astrophysics launches. NuSTAR, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, carries three identical hard X-ray (6-80 keV) telescopes, which will be the first in orbit giving focussed images of the sky at energies above 10 keV (wavelengths below 1.2 Angstroms). The angular resolution will be as little as 40 arcseconds, compared to 20 arcminutes for previous hard X-ray missions. The telescopes, each containing 150 nested paraboloid mirror shells, will extend from the small 1-meter-sized satellite on a 10-meter mast to provide a long focal length, and lasers will be used to monitor flexing of the mast due to temperature variations so that the focus can be corrected. The satellite will be sent up by an air-launched Pegasus rocket from the equatorial Kwajalein atoll to a low Earth orbit with a small inclination to the equator - this avoids problems with the high particle background experienced by polar orbiting spacecraft. After launch, NuSTAR will be checked out by observing the Crab Nebula and the Hercules X-1 binary system before moving on to make a census of active galactic nuclei in the Bootes and GOODS deep survey fields, well observed at other wavelengths, as well as studying the Galactic Center and mapping supernova remnants to study the production of the chemical elements.
Launch point 6.75N 167.7E (W Clavin/JPL, email)
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Jun 13 | 1500 | L-1011 T/O | KMR |
| 1600:37 | Drop at 6.743 167.70 | ||
| 1600:42 | T+0:05 Stage 1 burn | ||
| T+1:14? Stage 1 burnout | |||
| T+1:32 Stage 1 sep | |||
| T+1:32 Stage 2 burn 70s | |||
| T+2:08 Fairing sep | |||
| T+2:45 Stage 2 burnout | |||
| Coast | |||
| T+9:25 Stage 2 sep | |||
| T+9:33 Stage 3 burn 70s | |||
| 1610 | T+10:42? Stage 3 burnout | ||
| 1613 | T+13:41 Stage 3 sep | ||
| 2012 Jun 21 | 1743 | Mast deploy | |
| 1809 | Mast deploy complete | ||
| 2012 Jul 1 | 97.18 613 x 633 x 6.02 | ||
Payload:
- Telescope mast, 10m
- X-ray optics modules 1 and 2, 0.38m outer dia
- X-ray imagers, 2, each CdZnTe 4 x 32 x 32 pixels
Angara A5-IPM
2014-085A
The first flight of Russia's new heavy lift launch vehicle, the Angara A5, appears to have been a success. Angara's main stages are powered by LOX/Kerosene engines, more enviromentally friendly than Proton's UDMH/N2O4, and the rocket is launched from Plesetsk rather than Baikonur to lessen Russia's dependence on Kazakhstan for access to space.
The Angara-A5's first stage consists of four strapon URM-1 rockets, powered by RD-191 engines, clustered around the second stage, another URM-1 acting as the vehicle core. After launch at 0557:25 UTC Dec 23 the strapon URM-1 boosters separated at 0600:55 UTC at an altitude of 82 km; the core URM-1 shut down and separated at 0602:55 UTC at an altitude of 148 km, reentering downrange near Tomsk. The nose fairing was jettisoned 10 seconds later. The third stage is a URM-2, powered by the RD-0124A engine; it reached a marginally suborbital trajectory and, after separating from the upper composite section, reentered in the Philippine Sea at a range of 2320 km from the launch site. Meanwhile, the fourth stage, a standard Briz-M (S/N 88801) propelled the stack into a 250 km, 63 deg parking orbit with a burn starting at 0611 UTC. After coasting to the equator, two perigee burns at 0703 and 0926 UTC boosted the apogee to 5000 km and 35800 km respectively, reducing inclination to 60.6 deg. The Briz-M's additional propellant tank was jettisoned into a 433 x 35808 km x 60.6 deg orbit and cataloged as 40355. The payload on this flight was a dummy satellite called the IPM (acronym unknown, but probably meaning something like Test Payload Model) or, according to Novosti Kosmonavtiki, MGM (Massogabaritniy Maketa). The stack coasted to apogee and at 1444 UTC began the 4th burn to enter circular geosynchronous orbit. At 1457 UTC the Briz sent a simulated separation command, but the payload remained attached to the stage as intended. After a few more hours, two burns of the Briz stage's SOZ auxiliary engines moved the stack to a graveyard orbit a few hundred km above GEO.
| A5 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 Dec 23 | 0557:00 | Launch by Angara A5 | PL |
| 0600:55 | T+3:30 URM-1 (BB) boosters sep 86 km 3027m/s | -5900? x 100? | |
| 0602 | T+5:26 URM-1 (TsB) Core sep 159 km 4.807km/s | -4850? x 170? | |
| URM-1 impact 850 km range, Tomsk region | |||
| T+5:42 Fairing, 169 km, 4.845m/s | -4830? x 175? | ||
| T+5:28 URM-2 start | |||
| Core impact 2320 km range, Tomsk | |||
| 0609 | T+12:13 URM-2 MECO 215 km 7.145 km/s | -1065 x 220 x 63.15 | |
| 0609 | T+12:15 St 3 sep | ||
| URM-2 impact 8266 km range, Phliippine Sea | |||
| 0610:50 | T+13:50 Briz MES-1 | ||
| 0619:38 | T+22:38 MECO-1 | 250 x 250 x 63 | |
| 215 x 215 x 63.18 (NK) | |||
| 175 x 190 x 64.6 (Zarya) | |||
| 0703:04 | T+1:06:04 MES-2 18m? | ||
| 0718:04 | T+1:21:04 MECO-2 | 307 x 5007 x 62.00 | |
| 0926:00 | T+3:29:00 MES-3 18m? | ||
| 0941:11 | T+3:44:11 MECO-3 | ||
| 0942:32 | T+3:45:32 DTB sep | 636.02 444 x 35796 x 60.60 | |
| 1444:13 | T+8:47:13 MES-4 12m? | ||
| 1456:26 | T+8:59:26 MECO-4 | 1436.07 35793 x 35793 x 0.0 | |
| 1457:36 | MGM simulated sep from Briz | ||
| Planned graveyard orbit | 1461.65 35625 x 35946 x 0.44 | ||
| 1700:50 | SOZ-5 | ||
| 1701:05 | SOZ-5 CO | ||
| 1812:00 | SOZ-6 to graveyard orbit | ||
| 1813:40 | SOZ-6 CO | ||
Phoenix
2007-034A
The first Mars Scout mission is Phoenix, led by LPL at the University of Arizona. Phoenix SOC will be at Tuscon. Spacecraft is built by Lockheed Martin Astronautics.
Phoenix will land in the north polar region ca. 70N The mission will determine polar climate and weather, and study the role of water and ice on the northern plains. It will carry a robot sampler arm to search for organic molecules. It will use the Mars Surveyor 2001 lander, whose mission was cancelled after the Mars 98 failures. The robot arm can excavate to a depth of 1m.
Launch by Delta II 7925-9.5. Approach Vinf = 3.5 km/s; entry at 5.75 km/s.
Cruise stage (with solar panels), aeroshell, MPL descent system. Operations at new U of Arizona SOC. Lander has 4 RCS and 4 ACS thrusters; they fired through the backshell for cruise operations. 12 landing thrusters each have 31N thrust.
Cruise is 2.64m dia 1.74m high 3.6m span, mass 82 kg.
Lander is 1.8m dia 1m? high disk + 2 panels each 2.0m dia, span 5.5m, total height 2.2m. Launch mass 680 kg. Entry mass 572.7 kg. Mass 524 kg at landing.
| Mass budget | ||
| Cruise stage | 82 kg | |
| Lander cruise prop | 25 kg | |
| Back shell | 110 kg | |
| Aeroshell | 62 kg | |
| Lander dry | 343 (363 on surf?) | |
| Lander descent prop | 58 kg | |
| Lander descent prop used | 38 kg | |
MP Total | 680 | |
Injection at 2255 km, vel 11.0215 km/s, C3 = 29.080, perigee 195.2 km
Planned landing site is 68.35N 233.0E (areocentric), the Green Valley site among the Scandia Colles in Vastitas Borealis. Initial postlanding estimate was 68.22N 234.30E. Pictures of the surface were transmitted via Odyssey one orbit later. Final estimate from MRO is 68.219N 234.248E.
16.9 kg prop left after landing. Parachute 7s later than predicted.
Backshell 90m S of lander, parachute 10m S of backshell.
Heatshield 50m SE of lander.
| Phoenix | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 Aug 4 | 0926:34 | Launch by Delta 7925-9.5 | CC SLC17A |
| T+1:03 SRM 1-6 out | |||
| T+1:05 SRM 7-9 out | |||
| T+1:06 SRM 1-6 sep | |||
| T+2:09 SRM 7-9 out | |||
| T+2:11 SRM 7-9 sep | |||
| T+4:23 MECO | |||
| T+4:31 St 1 sep | |||
| 0931:10 | T+4:36 SEIG-1 | ||
| T+5:03 Fairing sep | |||
| 0935:54 | T+9:20 SECO-1 | 166 x 167 x 28.5 | |
| 1040:21 | T+1:13:47 SEIG-2 | ||
| 1042:36 | T+1:16:02 SECO-2 | 162 x 5793 x 28.5 | |
| 1043:39 | T+1:17:05 Stage 2 sep | 148.41 163 x 5651 x 28.5 | |
| 1044:16 | T+1:17:42 TES | ||
| 1045:44 | T+1:19:10 TECO | ||
| 1050:39 | T+1:24:05 Yo-yo despin | ||
| 1050:44 | T+1:24:10 Stage 3 sep | ||
| 1054:16 | T+1:27:42 Target interface point | 195 x -40365 x 28.5 | |
| 193 x -40716 x 28.41 (Horizons) | |||
| 1718 | Pass EL1:4 | ||
| 2007 Aug 6 | 0830 | Leave Earth SOI (0.93Mkm) | |
| 2007 Aug 7 | 1336 | Depart Earth sphere 1.5Mkm | |
| Mars miss distance 950000 km | |||
| 2007 Aug 10 | 1830 | TCM-1 18.5m/s 3:17 | |
| 2007 Oct 24 | TCM 46s 3m/s | ||
| 2008 Apr 10 | TCM 35s | ||
| 2008 May 18 | 0045 | TCM-5, 3s burn | |
| 2008 May 21 | 0924 | Enter Mars sphere 1.082Mkm | |
| 2008 May 23 | 1345 | Enter Mars SOI (0.58Mkm) | |
2008 May 25 | 2330? | -22 x -18951 x 69.72 | |
| 2323:40s | E-7 min Cruise separation | ||
| E-5min Turn to entry | |||
| 2331:13 | E-0s Entry 125 km, 5.7 km/s, gamma = -12 | ||
| 5.6 km/s at -13.01 deg 77.7 az 197.7,69.36 124.5 | |||
| 2334:50 | E+228s Para deploy 13 km | ||
| 2335:03 | E+236s Heat shield jettison 12 km | ||
| E+261s Radar on | |||
| 2335:14 | E+246s Leg deployment | ||
| 2338 | E+405s Lander sep from backshell, 0.9 km | ||
| Backshell Avoidance Manuever | |||
| E+444 Throttle up | |||
| E+465s Radar cutoff | |||
| 2338:39 | E+446s Reconstructed landing time | ||
| 2338:24 | E+470s Landing | ||
| L+25min Solar array deploy | |||
| 2008 Oct 27 | Dust storm | ||
| 2008 Nov 2 | Last transmission | ||
| 2009 May 25 | end of ops | ||
Payload:
- MARDI Descent imager (Malin)
- SSI Surface Stereoscopic Imager, Stereo Panoramic cameras (Arizona/Shinohara)
- Mass spectrometer
- RA Robotic arm - Trench digging arm, 2.4m (JPL/Bonitz) with ISAD (Icy Soil Acquisition Device).
- RAC Robotic arm camera (MPI-SolarSystem-Lindau/Arizona/Keller,Smith)
- TEGA Thermal evolved Gas Analyser (Arizona/UTD/Boynton)
- MECA Chemistry-microscopy instrument: (JPL/Hecht) optical and atomic force microscopes, wet chemistry lab for soil analysis
- TECP Electrical and thermal conducivity sensor probe (on arm)
- MET Meteorology lab (CSA,York/Whiteway); zenithal lidar, temperature/pressure station
Raduga 2010
2010-002A
This launch appears to have been a 4-burn launch, with the earlier burns 3 and 4 combined and the DTB ending up in a true GTO rather than the intermediate orbit used previously.
| Raduga 1M | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Jan 28 | 0018:00 | Launch by Proton-M/Briz-M | |
| T+2:06 St 1 sep | |||
| T+3:03 GO sep | |||
| T+5:30 St 2 sep | |||
| 0027 | T+9:34 St 3 MECO | ||
| T+9:44 Stage 3 sep | |||
| 0029 | T+11:19 ?Briz MES-1 | ||
| 0036 | T+18:55? MECO-1 | 173 x 173 x 51.49 | |
| 0126? | T+1:08? MES-2 | ||
| 0143? | T+1:25? MECO-2 | 273 x 4991 x 48.8 | |
| 0348? | T+3:30? MES-3 | ||
| 0404? | T+3:46? MECO-3 | ||
| 0406? | T+3:48? DTB sep | 408 x 35568 x 46.5 | |
| 415 x 35534 x 46.49 | |||
| 0907? | T+8:52? MES-5 | ||
| 0912? | MECO-5 | ||
| 0916 | Briz-M sep | ||
| 2010 Jan 28 | 1436.00 35772 x 35797 x 0.1 GEO 55.4E | ||
| 2010 Feb 3 | 1425.71 35535 x 35630 x 0.0 GEO 71.5E+2.6E/d | ||
| 2010 Mar 8 | 1436.09 35775 x 35797 x 0.0 GEO 85.0E | ||
| 2013 Jun 14 | 1436.10 35772 x 35801 x 0.0 GEO 85.0E | ||
SES-4
2012-007A
SES World Skies SES-4. Former NSS-14. Loral 1300 20 kW sat at 22W Atlantic slot. Will replace NSS 7.
Launch mass 6180 kg (Coopi, ILSMO).
| SES-4 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Feb 14 | 1936:37 | Launch by Proton 93524/99526 | KB |
| Az 61 deg | |||
| T+1:59 St 1 sep | |||
| T+5:27 St 2 sep | |||
| T+5:45 Fairing sep | |||
| T+9:42 St 3 MECO | |||
| 1946:19 | T+9:42 OB sep | -496 x 170 x 51.5 | |
| 1948:13 | T+11:36 MES-1 | ||
| 1952:44 | T+16:07 MECO-1 | ||
| Support orbit | 177 x 177 x 51.5 | ||
| 2044 | T+1:07:33 MES-2 | ||
| 2101 | T+1:25:17 MECO-2 | ||
| Intermediate orbit | 270 x 5000 x 50.3 | ||
| 2304 | T+3:28:17 MES-3 | ||
| 2315 | T+3:39:20 MECO-3 | ||
| 2316 | T+3:40:10 DTB sep | 325 x 14446 x 49.6 | |
| 2318 | T+3:41:37 MES-4 | ||
| 2324 | T+3:47:55 MECO-4 | ||
| Transfer orbit | 430 x 35806 x 49.1 | ||
| 2012 Feb 15 | |||
| 0430 | T+8:53:20 MES-5 | ||
| 0435 | T+8:59:10 MECO-5 | ||
| Target orbit | 4040 x 35786 x 23.6 | ||
| 0448:37 | T+9:12:00 Briz sep | ||
| 2012 Feb 16 | 698.59 3640 x 35762 x 24.5 | ||
| 2012 Feb 17 | 807.58 8946 x 35758 x 13.4 | ||
| 2012 Feb 18 | 938.39 14989 x 35755 x 7.6 | ||
| 2012 Feb 19 | 1062.37 20466 x 35754 x 4.9 | ||
| 2012 Feb 21 | 1101.76 22165 x 35749 x 3.8 | ||
| 2012 Feb 22 | 1189.41 25868 x 35747 x 2.4 | ||
| 2012 Feb 23 | 1407.09 34701 x 35731 x 0.1 | ||
| 2012 Feb 24 | 1426.36 35479 x 35712 x 0.1 | ||
| 2012 Feb 27 | 1433.99 35728 x 35762 x 0.1 | ||
| 2012 Feb 29 | 1436.08 35784 x 35788 x 0.1 GEO 26.0W | ||
| 2012 Mar 28 | 1436.11 35781 x 35792 x 0.06 GEO 26.0W | ||
| 2012 Apr 10 | Move out from 26W | ||
| 2012 Apr 15 | Move in at 22W | ||
| 2012 Apr 17 | 1436.09 35780 x 35791 x 0.0 GEO 22.0W | ||
| 2013 Jun 4 | 1436.10 35776 x 35796 x 0.0 GEO 22.0W | ||
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Soyuz TMA-22 (Astraea)
2011-067A
Crew were Anton N. Shkaplerov (KDR), Anatoliy A. Ivanishin, BI-1, and Dan Burbank, BI-2.
Spacecraft 11F732A17 No. 232, mission 28S. Mass 7220 kg (1259 BO, 2918 SA, 880 prop, so PAO 3043 kg full 2163 dry. Undocking mass 6891 kg.
| TMA22 | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 Nov 14 | 0414:04 | Launch by Soyuz-FG No. 38 | KB LC1-5 |
| 0422:52 | Sep from Blok-I | ||
| 0803:47 DV1 69s 28m/s | |||
| 0841:08 DV2 58s 24m/s | |||
| 2011 Nov 15 | 0503:18 | DV3 6.1s 2.0m/s 7.6 kg | |
| 2011 Nov 16 | |||
| 0501 | DV5 850m | ||
| 0507 | In flyaround | ||
| 0514 | Range 200m | ||
| 0516 | Complete flyaround, 180m | ||
| 0517 | Begin final approach | ||
| 0524:08 | Docked with Poisk | ||
| 0836 | Hatch open | ||
| 2012 Apr 27 | |||
| Crew to Soyuz | |||
| 0512 | HC (ISS report) | ||
| 0604 | HC? | ||
| 0818:19 | Undock | ||
| 0821 | Sep burn | ||
| 1049:26 | DO 4:14 115.2m/s | ||
| 1117:53 | SA/BO sep, 140 km | ||
| 1121:13 | Entry | ||
| 1130 | Para deploy | ||
| 1144:57s | Landing 51 01N 67 10 E | ||
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
Cygnus CRS-3 (Deke Slayton)
2014-F02
Cygnus ORB-3 mission. 5854 kg launch mass. 2290 kg upmass, 1714 kg down for disposal. If PCM is 1677 kg dry, then service module is 1887 kg. Antares engines E15,E16 and Castor 30XL, first flight of enhanced Antares 130. One of the AJ-26 engine turbobumps failed just after launch, and the vehicle fell back towards the pad. Range safety destruct completed a powerful explosion, destroying rocket and cargo and marking the end for the AJ-26-engined Antares design.
| ORB-3 actual | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 Oct 28 | 2222:30 | Launch by Antares 130 | MARS Pad 0A |
| 2222:46 | Turbopump failure | ||
| 2222:50 | Destroyed by RSO | ||
| 2222:53 | Impact pad area | ||
| ORB-3 planned | |||
| Date | Time | Event | Orbit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 Oct 27 | s | Launch by Antares 130 | MARS Pad 0A |
| T+3:54 MECO, 100 km | |||
| T+4:00 St 1 sep | |||
| T+4:29 Fairing sep | |||
| T+4:34 Interstage sep | |||
| T+4:41 St 2 burn (Castor XL), 140 km, 166s | |||
| T+7:27 St 2 burnout | |||
| T+9:27 St 2 sep, 214 km | |||
| 2014 Nov 2 | Arrival at ISS | ||