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

[RGClark]

Has any more information regarding the status of FG been posted? What do we know of the health of the vehicle?

Does it have the capability to do low energy transfers, that is less energy than the Hohmann transfer?


Bob Clark

 

[Urwumpe]

Does it have the capability to do low energy transfers, that is less energy than the Hohmann transfer?

I doubt it, with that number of propellant systems. It is likely that the clock is already counting there. also, it has only pretty low dV without the enhanced fregat stage.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Has any more information regarding the status of FG been posted? What do we know of the health of the vehicle?

There's unconfirmed information that star trackers used to measure attitude position were faulty. It has 4 of them, so this is a bit doubtful.

 

[Mandella]

A bit of a derail back to an earlier discussion in this thread, but this situation has made me think about how dangerous, perhaps unacceptably so, any manned repair/recover mission would be, even if anyone had anything that could be launched in time. This is a live, malfunctioning robot, with fully fueled (possibly) rockets that could fire at any time. Making any contact with it could set it off.

We really need to work on fully teleoperated repair bots for this sort of thing.

 

[T.Neo]

We really need to work on fully teleoperated repair bots for this sort of thing.

Perhaps even better: a way to remotely de-activate and safe a dysfunctional spacecraft, and return it to Earth for inspection and possibly repair and relaunch.

 

[N_Molson]

We really need to work on fully teleoperated repair bots for this sort of thing.

Or we can launch fully operational space probes, maybe it's cheaper

 

[Urwumpe]

Or we can launch fully operational space probes, maybe it's cheaper

or simply assume next time, that something could fail and omnidirectional antenna coverage might be needed in parking orbit.

 

[Ghostrider]

Perhaps even better: a way to remotely de-activate and safe a dysfunctional spacecraft, and return it to Earth for inspection and possibly repair and relaunch.

We had a way to do that, and it was called the Space Shuttle. But now they're all retired so...

... We're all gonna die.(TM)

 

[N_Molson]

We had a way to do that, and it was called the Space Shuttle. But now they're all retired so...

No way to jeopardy a Space Shuttle on such a low orbit IMHO... If there was a thermal tile problem and a problem with propulsion, that would be the end, no rescue op possible.

 

[Tacolev]

Not to mention you could get two more phobos-grunts with millions to spare for the cost of a space shuttle launch.

 

[N_Molson]

.. or the Mars Science Laboratory...

 

[T.Neo]

Who said we're using a space shuttle? :idk:

The Mars Science Laboratory project has a cost of over $2 billion; STS only got costs-per-flight like that with a very low flight-rate. But it isn't only the cost-per-flight, it's all the mission planning costs and so on... they add to it.

Mind you, making a new spacecraft might be cheaper after the first one has been created, as a lot of the development work has been completed.

 

[Tacolev]

Would be helpful if we knew what an X-37b launch cost...

 

[Hartmann]

Has any more information regarding the status of FG been posted? What do we know of the health of the vehicle?

Finally they managed to establish contact with the probe but unfortunately the launch windows was until day 21, not more .

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM5AJZW5VG_index_0.html

Could be possible send FG to mars after this data ??

 

[Mandella]

We had a way to do that, and it was called the Space Shuttle. But now they're all retired so...

... We're all gonna die.(TM)

But that's what I mean. Even forgetting for the moment the problem of using the shuttle for such a low orbit, would you want to risk getting it anywhere near this thing? Or did the shuttle have a magical deactivation ray it could use on malfunctioning satellites? :lol:

It's one thing to service a working satellite like the Hubble, but for a seriously malfunctioning craft like this, no way.

 

[Yoda]

Call me stupid, but if we have a launch window to Mars to Launch the new rover on Saturday why wouldn't phobos-Grunt still have the same window to reach Mars ?

 

[tl8]

Call me stupid, but if we have a launch window to Mars to Launch the new rover on Saturday why wouldn't phobos-Grunt still have the same window to reach Mars ?

Different dV budgets, Different Inclinations, Different Orbit Positions, Different TMI altitudes, Different Targets.

 

[SiberianTiger]

http://www.itar-tass.com/c19/281202.html

MOSCOW, Nov 25, /ITAR-TASS/. Past night specialists of ESA working at the satellite communications and measurement station in Perth (Australia), undertook four attempts to communicate to Russian Phobos-Grunt space probe.

"All four attempts were unsuccessful" - told us René Pischel, head of ESA representative office in Moscow. "Today's afternoon specialists from ESA and NPO Lavochkin should agree on the working plan for the next night", he added.

Earlier it was assumed that during the night between Nov 24th and 25th the station in Perth would do 5 communication slots with Phobos-Grunt, and try to relay a control inputs on board.

 

[Ghostrider]

But that's what I mean. Even forgetting for the moment the problem of using the shuttle for such a low orbit, would you want to risk getting it anywhere near this thing? Or did the shuttle have a magical deactivation ray it could use on malfunctioning satellites?

What's the problem? We'll have The Clint on board. The Clint will look the bird in the eye (or camera), squint a little and ask it "feel lucky, punk?"

 

[Keatah]

What about keeping this craft in leo till the next window opens?