Rokot/Briz-KM launch with three Swarm satellites - November 22, 2013

[jacqmans]

Successful Launch of the Swarm Constellation

Carrying Canadian Science and Technology

Longueuil, Quebec, November 22, 2013 – The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is proud to announce the successful launch of Swarm – the European Space Agency’s (ESA) first constellation of Earth Observation satellites. Lift off took place at 7:02 a.m. (EST) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia.

ESA’s Swarm mission is designed to precisely measure the magnetic fields generated from Earth’s core, mantle, crust, oceans, ionosphere and magnetosphere. The three satellites will accomplish their mission using the Canadian Electric Field Instrument (EFI), designed and built by COM DEV based on instruments developed by the University of Calgary. COM DEV supplied the Canadian EFI under an ESA contract.   

“Early on, the Canadian Space Agency supported the University of Calgary in the initial development of the technology related to the Canadian EFI. Years later, as a result of the passion and dedication of the scientists who worked on the project, the Canadian EFI is now ready to take a leap in space and support the very demanding requirements of the Swarm mission. Canada is proud to join Europe in this unique endeavour” stated the President of the Canadian Space Agency, Walter Natynczyk.

In addition to its role as lead scientific institute for the Canadian EFI, the University of Calgary, supported by the CSA, will take an active part in the mission by ensuring the optimal functioning of the instruments. Canadian scientists will use the measurements from the Canadian EFI to gain a better understanding of the processes that take place in the ionosphere; how space weather influences space plasma around Earth and how this can impact our daily lives.

Canada’s industrial and scientific contribution to the Swarm mission was enabled by the Canada-ESA Cooperation Agreement.

Swarm is one of ESA’s Earth Explorer missions, which are developed in direct response to issues raised by the scientific community. They aim to improve our understanding of how Earth works as a system and the impact human activity is having on natural Earth processes.

[Artyom.]

My congratulations  !

[robertross]

Most excellent. Thanks for the coverage all!

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Uh oh..... it seems that the Breeze-KM again has failed to do its de-orbit burn completely!

1. The Khrunichev live data page is showing the de-orbit burn being done 52.5 minutes before it was supposed to happen.

2. Freshly updated TLEs from NORAD shows 4 objects in similar orbits:

2013-067A: 489 x 502 km x 87.56 deg.
2013-067B: 490 x 503 km x 87.56 deg.
2013-067C: 490 x 502 km x 87.56 deg.
2013-067D: 461 x 472 km x 87.56 deg.

(Orbits for A/B/C are of epoch 15:12 UTC, and for D 15:29 UTC, well after the disposal burns should have occurred)

3. If I am reading correctly it seems that someone at the NK forums is reporting the same thing.

The original plan was to dispose the Breeze-KM in a 429 x 473 km x 87.55 deg. orbit.

[Satori]

Exact launch time: 1202:29.038UTC

Spacecraft separation: 1333:46.888UTC

[JimO]

Interfax is reporting the failure -- they don't know if was the guidance system or the engine.

http://www.gosnews.ru/society/news/3857

Today's news stories:

Разгонный блок "Бриз-КМ", по данным NORAD, после космического запуска накануне не смог уйти на заданную орбиту
http://www.interfax.ru/russia/txt.asp?id=342795
23 ноября 2013, 13:10

23 ноября 2013, 12::46 // http://www.vz.ru/news/2013/11/23/661016.html
NORAD: Блок «Бриз-КМ» не вышел на заданную орбиту после вывода спутников

[baldusi]

How do you record this situation? Successful launch, because the payload was put where it was supposed, right? But two consecutive anomalies do ring a bell. But, at the same time, in both missions multi burn profiles were successfully executed upto S/C. But the LV failed the the agreed decay time. Can't quite understand how to record. Should i add a field about LV anomalies that didn't affected the payload? Isn't disposal part of current mission standards?

[Prober]

Wow...nice headline from that translator:  "Lost" on-orbit booster unit can crash into the ISS
 
 

[russianhalo117]

How do you record this situation? Successful launch, because the payload was put where it was supposed, right? But two consecutive anomalies do ring a bell. But, at the same time, in both missions multi burn profiles were successfully executed upto S/C. But the LV failed the the agreed decay time. Can't quite understand how to record. Should i add a field about LV anomalies that didn't affected the payload? Isn't disposal part of current mission standards?

Partial Success:
anik put the last Briz-KM Failure as:
1 – January 15 – Kosmos-2482/-2483/-2484 – Rokot/Briz-KM – Plesetsk 133/3 – 16:24:58.965 UTC (Briz-KM failure)

Anatoly Zak of RussianSpaceWeb.com put his this way:
69 - Russia - Nov. 22 - 16:02:29 Moscow Time - Swarm-A, Swarm-B, Swarm-C - Science / geophysics - Rockot - Plesetsk - 133/33 - Success*
*A technical problem during the operation of the Briz-KM upper stage. Payload delivered successfully.

[jcm]

How do you record this situation? Successful launch, because the payload was put where it was supposed, right? But two consecutive anomalies do ring a bell. But, at the same time, in both missions multi burn profiles were successfully executed upto S/C. But the LV failed the the agreed decay time. Can't quite understand how to record. Should i add a field about LV anomalies that didn't affected the payload? Isn't disposal part of current mission standards?

Partial Success:
anik put the last Briz-KM Failure as:
1 – January 15 – Kosmos-2482/-2483/-2484 – Rokot/Briz-KM – Plesetsk 133/3 – 16:24:58.965 UTC (Briz-KM failure)

Anatoly Zak of RussianSpaceWeb.com put his this way:
69 - Russia - Nov. 22 - 16:02:29 Moscow Time - Swarm-A, Swarm-B, Swarm-C - Science / geophysics - Rockot - Plesetsk - 133/33 - Success*
*A technical problem during the operation of the Briz-KM upper stage. Payload delivered successfully.

The last, Jan 15, failure affected the payloads. This one does not appear to have. I am therefore scoring it as
a success for statistical purposes, but Anatoly's footnote is apropos.

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Interestingly the Russians at NK (including some "insiders") are mostly determining that the situation is normal...... 

[belegor]

The last, Jan 15, failure affected the payloads. This one does not appear to have. I am therefore scoring it as
a success for statistical purposes, but Anatoly's footnote is apropos.

Do we know whether the Briz-KM vented its propellant after the failed de-orbit burn? If not, wouldn't there be a significant risk of the stage blowing up (see e.g. Orbital Debris Quarterly January 2013) and thus littering the orbits of the SWARM spacecraft with debris?

[woods170]

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Swarm/Swarm_constellation_deploys_booms

Swarm constellation deploys booms

23 November 2013 - Following yesterday’s successful launch, another critical milestone has been passed. The three Swarm satellites have each deployed their four-metre long boom.

[baldusi]

The last, Jan 15, failure affected the payloads. This one does not appear to have. I am therefore scoring it as
a success for statistical purposes, but Anatoly's footnote is apropos.

Do we know whether the Briz-KM vented its propellant after the failed de-orbit burn? If not, wouldn't there be a significant risk of the stage blowing up (see e.g. Orbital Debris Quarterly January 2013) and thus littering the orbits of the SWARM spacecraft with debris?

Yep. That's a bit like I see it. What if the Briz-M failure increases risk for this mission? What if it failed to passivice? etc.?

[InfraNut2]

There might not have been a deorbit failure:

Anatoly Zak @RussianSpaceWeb tweeted 27m ago:

#Briz's performance during Firday's #Rockot launch with #Swarm satellites might've been OK after all: http://www.russianspaceweb.com/rockot_swarm.html#briz …
#Breeze

[input~2]

According to latest TLE data, Briz-KM's orbit lies 30km below that for Swarm A, B and C
(461 x 472 km vs 490 x 501 km )

[bolun]

I think that it's time to unlock the Swarm thread.

ESA - Swarm updates

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=27174.0

[Stan Black]

This was the first Polet Production Association, Omsk completed Rokot.

Пуск РН «Рокот» с полетовским «первенцем» намечен на сентябрь 2012 года.

http://www.omskprofpol.su/images/stories/documents/Archive/2012/polet_13-14_2012.pdf

[owais.usmani]

This was the first Polet Production Association, Omsk completed Rokot.

Пуск РН «Рокот» с полетовским «первенцем» намечен на сентябрь 2012 года.

http://www.omskprofpol.su/images/stories/documents/Archive/2012/polet_13-14_2012.pdf

Forgive my ignorance, but is the Rockot still in production? I mean, isn't it the old decommissioned SS-19 missile?

[Stan Black]

This was the first Polet Production Association, Omsk completed Rokot.

Пуск РН «Рокот» с полетовским «первенцем» намечен на сентябрь 2012 года.

http://www.omskprofpol.su/images/stories/documents/Archive/2012/polet_13-14_2012.pdf

Forgive my ignorance, but is the Rockot still in production? I mean, isn't it the old decommissioned SS-19 missile?

Rokot includes a fairing and an upper stage, the Briz-KM.