Launch News (Failure) Phobos-Grunt and YingHuo-1 atop Zenit-2 on November 8/9, 2011

[silent_protagonist]

Successful (so far! It's like counting chickens before they've hatched whilst juggling the eggs...) launch of yet another exploration mission, today is a good day.

I also think it's an interesting historical coincidence that the first Chinese Mars probe is named "Firefly". Presumably it's a complete coincidence but it still makes the Browncoat in me rejoice

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Should make for some cool photos! :thumbup:

From ISS On-Orbit Status Report for 08/11/2011.

FOBOS-GRUNT Launch:
If everything goes as planned, Russia will launch its FOBOS-GRUNT (Phobos-Soil) probe to Mars tonight at 7:16pm EST on a Zenit-2SB/Fregat rocket. The Phobos Sample Return Mission PhSRM, which is also carrying a Chinese Mars satellite, Yinghuo-1, a 2nd Chinese experiment, and an experiment of the U.S. Planetary Society, will land on the Martian moon and return a soil sample (~200g) to Earth. It will also study Mars from orbit, including its atmosphere and dust storms, plasma and radiation environment. The return vehicle is scheduled to arrive back on Earth in August 2014. The spacecraft will be inserted into a 207 x 347 km elliptical orbit inclined 51.4 deg. After 2.5 hrs flight (1.7 revs) the main propulsion system will be ignited to transfer the spacecraft into an elliptical orbit of 250 km x 4150 (...4170) km, with a period of 2.2 hrs. After 2.1 hrs (1 revolution), a 2nd engine burn for TMI (Trans-Mars Injection) at 8:04:06pm EST will transfer the spacecraft into an interplanetary Earth-Mars trajectory.
The ISS crew will be able to view PhSRM tonight, starting at ~7:58pm, at a range of 3248 nmi., with the spacecraft and its exhaust plume in sunlight for the entire duration of the viewing opportunity and the ISS in eclipse (darkness). If successful, Russia is back in the business of planetary exploration. Let’s all wish them well! Godspeed, Fobos-Grunt!

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Successful (so far! It's like counting chickens before they've hatched whilst juggling the eggs...) launch of yet another exploration mission, today is a good day.

I also think it's an interesting historical coincidence that the first Chinese Mars probe is named "Firefly". Presumably it's a complete coincidence but it still makes the Browncoat in me rejoice

Go Firefly!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/af/Fireflyopeninglogo.JPG

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy freaking batman! Multiple sources are reporting that the two burns scheduled to be done by the Fregat cruise stage did not took place as planned. :beathead: Apparently the spacecraft's computers had developed problems before the planned burns and went into safe mode. The bad news are that the engineers are unsure if the spacecraft's solar panels are pointing towards the Sun as planned; it is still stuck in Earth orbit; and no telemetry was received during the time of the planned burn. The good news are that NASA's Deep Space Network stations can at least establish communication links with the spacecraft (which suggested that the spacecraft is in safe mode), the spacecraft can re-attempt the trans-Martian burn again later if the problems can be resolved, and the second burn was successfully scrubbed before it happened.

The problem is now what?:sos::uhh:


Sources:

http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Nov-2011/0069.html

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=15610.375

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/phobos_grunt_launch.html

 

[Codz]

Holy freaking batman! Multiple sources are reporting that the two burns scheduled to be done by the Fregat cruise stage did not took place as planned. :beathead: Apparently the spacecraft's computers had developed problems before the planned burns and went into safe mode. The bad news are that the engineers are unsure if the spacecraft's solar panels are pointing towards the Sun as planned; it is still stuck in Earth orbit; and no telemetry was received during the time of the planned burn. The good news are that NASA's Deep Space Network stations can at least establish communication links with the spacecraft (which suggested that the spacecraft is in safe mode), the spacecraft can re-attempt the trans-Martian burn again later if the problems can be resolved, and the second burn was successfully scrubbed before it happened.

The problem is now what?:sos::uhh:


Sources:

http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Nov-2011/0069.html

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=15610.375

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/phobos_grunt_launch.html

That sucks.

 

[N_Molson]

I hope those problems are only bugs that can be (quickly) fixed by reprogramming the computers. :shifty:

The Sun orientation problem is obviously the priority...

Spaceflight Now

Russian Mars mission runs into problems in Earth orbit

After launching from Kazakhstan on a Zenit rocket at 2016 GMT (3:16 p.m. EST) Tuesday, Russia's Phobos-Grunt probe destined for the Martian moon Phobos has reportedly run into trouble in a parking orbit several hundred miles above Earth. Russian officials report the spacecraft may have missed a burn to begin heading toward Mars.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

And now a brief statement from Roscosmos...

It was a difficult night, we weren't able to see the spacecraft. Now we have its coordinates. It's clear that the MDU didn't work... There weren't neither the first, nor the second engine burns - says Vladimir Popovkin, head of Roscosmos

According to him, it is possible that the spacecraft "could not shift from the Sun to the stars."

"The track complex, could it be that has not been given the command to activate the sensors, propulsion system," - said Popovkin.

He stressed that this is a freelance situation, but it's working, it was foreseen in the design of the project, and was envisaged course of action in this situation.

"We will surcharge program spacecraft. The orbit on which the unit - support, no tanks are not dumped, no fuel was spent," - said the head of the Russian Space Agency.

He added that the time to restart the program from the experts there for three days.

"During the day we will definitely inform all of the future situation," - said Popovkin.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Damn, I shouldn't have gone sleeping...

 

[SiberianTiger]

http://phobos.cosmos.ru/index.php?i...ead&cat_uid=1&conf_uid=1&thread_uid=21&page=2

Posts from a project participant on the official PhG forum (time is UTC+4):

01:17
Telemetry information OK
Batteries are charging
There's attitude control
There's Sun-facing keeping

03:42
It's an emergency, we have no telemetry

03:42
No telemetry

04:34
We can only pray... There's absolutely no information

 

[SiberianTiger]

There's information that ejection still can be commenced if the problems are fixed withing three days (maybe because after the the orbit will decay?)

 

[Wishbone]

Biting nails... I wake up and I find telemetry lost, no burns and no explanation on what went wrong (apart from feeble attempts to blame the NIPs by Popovkin there are plenty of possibilities).

 

[Mafuskas]

There's information that ejection still can be commenced if the problems are fixed withing three days (maybe because after the the orbit will decay?)

I just read that the three day window is for the battery life the spacecraft has in its current configuration.

Very unfortunate news, I came to check on this mission with high hopes and was heart broken. I am very excited by the mission concept. I can only place my faith in the ground engineers...I doubt they will be sleeping much for the next three days.

 

[SiberianTiger]

1 37873U 11065B 11313.02318851 -.00003611 11416-4 00000+0 0 10
2 37873 051.4334 000.3953 0100243 017.8678 342.5852 16.02543395 04

Which is:
Inc = 51.433
RAAN = 0.395
e = 0.0100243
T = 1h 29m 51s (89.85 m)
MSemi = 6 646 km
PeA x ApA 201 x 334 km

 

[MaverickSawyer]

hsnap:
What is it with Mars and the Russians? They never mix well for some reason...
Oh well, better have a load of ready at ground control...

 

[IronRain]

I wake up and then this?! Come on Russia, you can fix it!

 

[SiberianTiger]

It was said that the only telemetry transmission received (or known about) was obtained by a DSN stations who lent their working time to Roscosmos to support the mission. After that, the contract time ended. Ground stations in Russia were unable to acquire contact with the spacecraft.

The characteristics of the telemetry and control channel are such:

Transmission - 7,159.72-7,176.28 MHz
Receiving - 8,412.268-8,431.1 MHz
Power - 20 kW
Bit Rate - 8–4 • 10^3 bit/s

 

[SiberianTiger]

Official note on the project site:
http://phobos.cosmos.ru/index.php?id=285&L=2

Dear Colleagues !

We need your support in the project "Phobos-Soil", because:
Two ignitions of Phobos-Grunt engine unit are planned to put spacecraft onto interplanetary mission to Mars. But unfortunately in both cases the operation of spacecraft engine is invisible from Russian ground stations. It is planned to record data about system work during engine operation on-board and when reaching the visibility area of ground stations in Russia to transmit these data to ground. But it is not so comfortable approach especially in case of some deviation from nominal scenario including failure. So there is the idea to observe the engine operation by optical instruments, i.e. telescopes, taking into account the position of spacecraft in eclipse part of the orbit during engine burn and brightness of engine plume ( engine propellant is nonsymmetrical Hydrazine and Nitrogen tetroxide, consumed with the rate of 6 kilos per second). Such approach with fast enough delivery of the results of observations may allow to confirm the very fact of the engine operation and to reach more reliable forecast of spacecraft position when the visibility area from Russian ground stations will be reached.

Many thanks for your cooperation!

:facepalm:

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

It was said that the only telemetry transmission received (or known about) was obtained by a DSN stations who lent their working time to Roscosmos to support the mission. After that, the contract time ended. Ground stations in Russia were unable to acquire contact with the spacecraft.

The characteristics of the telemetry and control channel are such:

And even the part that NASA's DSN has acquired signals from Phobos-Grunt might be incorrect.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Don't know what does it mean, but an anonymous user writes:

Solar arrays have deployed

 

[SiberianTiger]

Emily Lakdawalla provides her insight into the present state:

http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003251/