LIVE: Soyuz-2-1A launch with Bion-M and others - Baykonur - April 19, 2013

[a_langwich]

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

On the evening of May 19, Interfax reported that all Mongolian gerbils and more than half of mice onboard the spacecraft did not survive the flight. The loss of gerbils was a result of the equipment failure (apparently in the Kontur-BM experiment), Vladimir Sychev, the head of a laboratory at IMBP told the agency. However all geckos and all other biological organisms onboard Bion-M No.1 did survive and, in practical terms, all but one experiment onboard Bion-M No. 1 worked as planned, Sychev added.

However on May 20, RIA Novosti quoted a chief scientist at IMBP Evgeni Il'in as saying that all fish (Oreochromis mosambicus) onboard German-sponsored Omegahab experiment also died as a result of the technical failure in the aquarium. Il'in also explained that a single failure in the experiment containing gerbils (Kontur-BM) led the flight control system to turn off power to the entire unit interrupting oxygen and food supply, light and ventilation. According to Il'in, a special commission will be formed to investigate the failure.

In the experiment containing mice, the food-supply system failed immediately (after launch) leading to the loss of 15 mice. Other technical failures in various units of the experiment left only six out of 45 mice onboard Bion-M N. 1 alive (by the end of the flight), Il'in said. The natural death of the animals was not expected to exceed five percent of the population, according to Il'in. He confirmed that all 15 geckos (Chondrodactylus turneri), snails and microorganisms did survive the flight.

Despite all the failures, Il'in characterized the latest Bion mission as an overall success.

I'm surprised how can they classify this mission as an overall success. This should be very close to a failed mission.

It's a test success--something was learned.    At the same time, I agree with you.  Lessons like "don't be careless" or "provide better/passive fallbacks for powered mechanisms" aren't especially ground-breaking and don't repay the cost of the mission.

On the one hand, it's nice to not have to worry about human life at stake on your life-support system.  On the other hand, though, if you get careless because of the lower criticality, you waste the benefit of the experiment.

It seems silly for animals to die for lack of oxygen in a pressurized vessel.  For food supply, too, I could imagine designing bedding which would taste bad but could supply nutrients if the animal were starving.  Passive fallbacks. 

Don't trust these guys for one of those science-fiction long-sleep missions! 

[baldusi]

They had multiple experiments, and the mission the capsule itself worked well. That some of the experiments had technical failures, is more a problem of said experiments. And let's remember that they did got some experiments working well. For a first mission they should call it a success (with some normal anomalies).

[Stan Black]

They had multiple experiments, and the mission the capsule itself worked well. That some of the experiments had technical failures, is more a problem of said experiments. And let's remember that they did got some experiments working well. For a first mission they should call it a success (with some normal anomalies).

Thing is this was not really a first mission

[Lewis007]

IMBP had an extensive set of photos of the recovery phase (more than 60).
http://biosputnik.imbp.ru/

[Robert Thompson]

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russian_Satellite_a_Success_Despite_Animal_Deaths_999.html
 "The transition to zero gravity could have led to stress which could have provoked a conflict in the group," the scientist said, but admitted the fishes' death was due to technical faults.

"Twelve days after [the start of the space flight], the lights went off, algae [in the fish tank] stopped photosynthesizing, oxygen ceased to be released and the fish died," he said, adding the experiment involving the fish had been carried out by German scientists.

[Stan Black]

Payload: Bion-M № 1 12КСМ № Л15000-01
Rocket: Soyuz-2-1B 14А14-1B № Л15000-009
Rocket: Soyuz-2-1A 14А14-1А № Л15000-014
Fairing: 17С13А8 № Л15000-001

State Rocket and Space Research and Production Centre «TsSKB-Progress»
Государственный научно-производственный ракетно-космический центр «ЦСКБ-Прогресс»

Bion-M

Soyuz-2-1B

17С13А8

Изготовление и поставка головного обтекателя (СЗБ 17С13А8) для запуска КА «Бион-М» № 1 (353У.0001.002ТУ)

54 480 000 Russian ruble
Order placed: 19th April 2011
Contractual period: April 2011 to December 2011
[source]

Delivery to launch site

Транспортировка двух ракет-носителей «Союз-2-1б» для запуска КА «Метеор-М» № 2, «Бион-М» № 1

15 569 600 Russian ruble
Order placed: 26th April 2012
Contractual period: April 2012 to 25th November 2012
[source] [source]

Centre for Operation of Land-Based Space Infrastructure (TsENKI)
Центр эксплуатации объектов наземной космической инфраструктуры (ЦЭНКИ)

Launch campaign

287 500 000 Russian ruble
Order placed: 13th September 2012
Contractual period: up to 25th November 2013
[source]

Служба ЕС АКПС
Иное юридическое лицо Министерство обороны Российской Федерации

End of mission search & recovery

3 969 123 Russian ruble
Contractual period: September 2013 to October 2013
[source]

[Danderman]

I think the message here is that the procurement was for Soyuz 2.1b but the launch was performed by Soyuz 2.1a.

[aga]

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27375-space-geckos-seen-playing-on-their-trip-into-orbit.html#.VTfCuFxLGop
space geckos... with a video from an onboard cam