Coverup of Mars-96 impact on Boliviahttp://www.jamesoberg.com/plutonium.html
Since Mars-96 carried four probes designed to enter the Martian atmosphere, they would almost certainly have survived entry into Earth's atmosphere.
The amounts of energy unleashed on a spacecraft on reentry from the Mars 96 final orbit are up to five times larger than those unleashed on a spacecraft on direct entry into the Martian atmosphere after interplanetary flight. Reason: Earths much denser atmosphere.Suggesting that the probes survived Earth entry because they were designed for Mars entry is a shaky statement at best.
Getting back on topic. How are we doing with the orbital decay?
Interesting quote from Rogozin today:"So far, no one has any theories as to what happened," he added. "I am meeting with designers today. The situation is so unusual that specialists have so far been unable to determine any causes," Rogozin said
Failure investigationFrom the beginning, the investigation into the Progress M-27M failure focused solely on three final seconds in the operation of the Soyuz-2-1a launch vehicle and the separation of the spacecraft. It looked like a delayed command to cutoff the engine of the rocket's third stage held the key to the mystery. The following timeline of those critical moments had emerged by May 1:MilestoneActualNominal (planned)NoteSpacecraft separation readiness command526.26 seconds?-Stage III engine cutoff command, GK-3526.32 seconds524.97 seconds1.35 seconds lateStage III engine cutoff begins526.51 seconds?-Loss of telemetry system No. 1526.67 secondsN/A-Loss of telemetry system No. 2526.73 secondsN/A-Spacecraft separation?528.27 seconds-Source: Novosti Kosmonavtiki
Quote from: JimO on 05/01/2015 01:25 amInteresting quote from Rogozin today:"So far, no one has any theories as to what happened," he added. "I am meeting with designers today. The situation is so unusual that specialists have so far been unable to determine any causes," Rogozin saidIf this is true (ahem... consider the source), then making the argument that the next crew launch is good-to-go is impossible. Too many common systems that could be at fault. Continuing with a few Progress launches to increase confidence that this was a one-off failure would help, but still might not be sufficient.Who makes this call? I'd assume NASA for NASA astros.
http://russianspaceweb.com/progress-m27m.html QuoteFailure investigationFrom the beginning, the investigation into the Progress M-27M failure focused solely on three final seconds in the operation of the Soyuz-2-1a launch vehicle and the separation of the spacecraft. It looked like a delayed command to cutoff the engine of the rocket's third stage held the key to the mystery. The following timeline of those critical moments had emerged by May 1:MilestoneActualNominal (planned)NoteSpacecraft separation readiness command526.26 seconds?-Stage III engine cutoff command, GK-3526.32 seconds524.97 seconds1.35 seconds lateStage III engine cutoff begins526.51 seconds?-Loss of telemetry system No. 1526.67 secondsN/A-Loss of telemetry system No. 2526.73 secondsN/A-Spacecraft separation?528.27 seconds-Source: Novosti Kosmonavtiki
Could RD-0110 have run to propellant starvation and suffered a bad shutdown as a result? - Ed Kyle
Quote from: edkyle99 on 05/01/2015 04:32 pmCould RD-0110 have run to propellant starvation and suffered a bad shutdown as a result? - Ed KyleWere there similar accidents that happened before (at least on the "Western launchers" where details are more clear)?
Quote from: edkyle99 on 05/01/2015 04:32 pmCould RD-0110 have run to propellant starvation and suffered a bad shutdown as a result? - Ed KyleWouldn't that suggest that under nominal conditions the upper stage has only 1.5 seconds of fuel margin. Is that 'nominal'? (not trying to imply anything, just asking because I have no idea one way or another)
Could RD-0110 have run to propellant starvation and suffered a bad shutdown as a result?
Quote from: edkyle99 on 05/01/2015 04:32 pmCould RD-0110 have run to propellant starvation and suffered a bad shutdown as a result?This is the nightmare scenario for any bi-prop system, where one prop stops feeding [several causes] while the other continues. It's why you have low-level sensors for the SSMEs. Ox-rich burn can be 'energetic' very rapidly.