I wonder if there's any way to enhance that for a closer view? I think - in full screen and full res - you can see reflections from the spin.
According to sources at RKTs Progress, telemetry from the spacecraft stopped coming slightly earlier than from the rocket. At the same time, the evidence was increasingly pointing toward an explosion onboard the rocket, which damaged the spacecraft, while some considerable force still propelled both vehicles to different orbits. At the same time, the spacecraft reportedly never fired its engines and all its propellant had remained intact, according to available telemetry. In addition, it takes 30 seconds for the propulsion system onboard the Progress to be pressurized -- clearly not enough to make it operational at the time of the accident. Moreover, an apparent failure of the main computer onboard Progress M-27M blocked dynamic operations onboard the spacecraft.Investigators also concluded that after the pressurization, the propellant under pressure of around 12 atmospheres was venting from lines punctured by a nearby explosion of the third stage, causing the tumbling of the spacecraft, a source at the mission control in Korolev said.
It's definitely becoming clearer that this was a failure in the launch vehicle. The question now is whether the failure was in the propulsion hardware or somewhere in the control system. The combination of over-thrust throughout the burn and an explosion towards the end makes me think that the engine is at fault but I'll defer to those with more knowledge.I have no doubt that the engine manufacturers and control system manufacturers are currently competing over who can denounce the other's shoddy workmanship loudest.
Quote from: Chris Bergin on 05/04/2015 10:24 pmI wonder if there's any way to enhance that for a closer view? I think - in full screen and full res - you can see reflections from the spin.This is the best I can do. The original was 720P (which I find funny that they would only provide that instead of 1080P).
T.S. Kelso @TSKelso 5m5 minutes agoLatest Space Track decay prediction is May 8 at 1217 UTC +/-48 hours. That puts prediction time over NE Africa:
Quote from: Chris Bergin on 05/05/2015 05:29 pmT.S. Kelso @TSKelso 5m5 minutes agoLatest Space Track decay prediction is May 8 at 1217 UTC +/-48 hours. That puts prediction time over NE Africa:This statement doesn't make sense to me - ±48 hrs is ~64 orbits - which means it can be anywhere.
Latest guesses and guess-based safety assurances:Debris of defunct Russian cargo spacecraft pose no threat to populated areas — experthttp://tass.ru/en/non-political/793206
"The amount of debris will be too insignificant to feel any fear. The risk they may crash upon a residential area is microscopically small.
The probability of suffering a road accident on the streets of Moscow is far greater," he said.