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Soyuz launch with Foton-M3 and YES2 - 14 Sept 2007 by eeergo on 26 Mar, 2007 15:24
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I thought I would start a thread about this launch, which looks promising
This mission will be launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz-U rocket, and is intended to do microgravity experiments during the 12 days the mission will last. Lots of new science (I hope) to be done here:There's an article at ESA's website talking about the Foton-M3 mission and its preparations: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMUGCN0LYE_index_0.html
And NasaWatch has posted a heads-up concerning the -very active- group of students participating in the YES2-Fotino mission, which is quite original: a small reentry capsule linked to the main craft (Foton M3) by a 32km-long tether, the largest structure ever deployed in space, which apparently will test techniques for changes of orbit without fuel (by means of interactions between the charged tether and the magnetosphere, not unlike what www.tethers.com are planning to do, launching their MAST satellite in the Dnepr soon)
I found the YES2 official website, a nice blog (they had another with more info about the spacecraft, but apparently they lost it because of a virus attack) http://www.yes2.info/?q=frontpage
The ESA site about YES2: http://www.esa.int/esaED/SEMVJ1AATME_index_0.html
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#1 by Tobi on 02 Apr, 2007 07:53
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Can anyone explain why the Foton launches have been switched from Plesetsk to Baikonur after the Foton M-1 mission?
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#2 by anik on 10 May, 2007 15:57
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Students test 'space postal service' during Foton mission
10 May 2007
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMG3ZU681F_index_0.html -
#3 by Satori on 14 May, 2007 23:13
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According to information provided in this report http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn11836-experimental-space-tether-fails-to-deploy.html from News Scientist, the Young Engineers Satellite 2 (YES-2) was shipped to Baykonur on May 10.
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#4 by William Graham on 25 May, 2007 19:27
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Which pad will they be using? LC-1 or 31.
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#5 by anik on 25 Jun, 2007 14:22
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YES2 given green light for launch
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMYZR8OY2F_index_0.html -
#6 by oscar71 on 25 Jun, 2007 21:19
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Foton looks a lot like Vostok.
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#7 by edkyle99 on 25 Jun, 2007 21:47
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oscar71 - 25/6/2007 4:19 PM
Foton looks a lot like Vostok.
That's because it basically *is* a Vostok!
http://www.spaceflight.esa.int/users/index.cfm?act=default.page&level=11&page=facfoton
Before seeing use as civil "Foton" spacecraft, these things were flying spysat missions under the "Zenit" name. This may be the most oft-flown spaceship type to date.
Imagine that NASA had continued to fly Mercury capsules on unmanned missions until the present day.
- Ed Kyle -
#8 by sammie on 25 Jun, 2007 21:47
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That figures, considering it is the latest version of the Vostok
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#9 by anik on 05 Jul, 2007 17:22
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According to http://www.space.com.ua/gateway/news.nsf/hronolR/7B8F0D1000B15257C225730F00273B3A!open (in Russian), Foton-M No. 3 satellite will depart TsSKB-Progress enterprise (Samara) on July 14th...
The arrival of satellite to Baikonur cosmodrome is scheduled on July 19th... -
#10 by anik on 14 Jul, 2007 07:48
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GW_Simulations - 25/5/2007 11:27 PM
Which pad will they be using? LC-1 or 31
We will use the launch pad 1/5, according to http://www.federalspace.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=2328 -
#11 by otisbow on 14 Jul, 2007 18:23
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Unlike the US, the Russians do not throw away a spacecraft. That is why the Vostok and Soyuz are still flying!
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#12 by Eraser on 15 Jul, 2007 05:56
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otisbow - 14/7/2007 12:23 AM Unlike the US, the Russians do not throw away a spacecraft. That is why the Vostok and Soyuz are still flying!
We did so. For example Energia-Buran.
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#13 by anik on 17 Jul, 2007 15:00
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According to http://kz-today.kz/index.php?lang=rus&uin=1138536794&chapter=1153420775 (in Russian), Foton-M No. 3 satellite and Soyuz-U rocket for its launch were delivered to Baikonur cosmodrome by train today...
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#14 by anik on 19 Jul, 2007 17:59
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According to http://kz-today.kz/index.php?lang=rus&uin=1138536794&chapter=1153420962 (in Russian), Foton-M No. 3 satellite was unloaded from carriage and installed into special test stand in the Assembly-Testing Building (MIK) No. 112...
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#15 by anik on 21 Aug, 2007 06:11
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According to http://kz-today.kz/index.php?lang=rus&uin=1138536794&chapter=1153422349 (in Russian), complex tests of Foton-M No. 3 satellite were carried out in the Assembly-Testing Building (MIK) No. 112 on August 15th...
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#16 by jacqmans on 23 Aug, 2007 07:58
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In Baikonur is prepared for the starting scientific satellite "Photon- M -3", which will deliver in orbit of the experimental mice
http://kz-today.kz/index.php?uin=1138536794&chapter=1153423306
"KAZAKHSTAN TODAY". 22 August. BAIKONUR. At the spaceport Baikonur is prepared for the starting scientific satellite "Photon- M -3", which will deliver in orbit of experimental mice. On this to agency they reported in the press- service of federal space center "Baikonur".
According to the information of press- service, today in the assembly and testing housing of the area of ?yy2 the calculations of main enterprise and baykonurskogo branch of samarskogo TSSKB "progress" and FKTS "Baikonur" conducted load into the automatic spacecraft of the special biological containers, in which will live experimental mouse- sand eels. , according to the data of press- service, they will bring mice themselves to the spaceport on the eve of the start. "after the completion of experiments the mouse- cosmonauts, on whom will test the medicines, it is returned to the earth in the descent vehicle", they explained in the space center.
Furthermore, today specialists conducted the planned works with the scientific gear on automatic spacecraft.
The scientific satellite "Photon- M -3", which bears the third ordinal number (first "Photon- M" it was destroyed with the emergency in 2003, and by the second it successfully carried out its mission during May - June 2005), is the unique development of Russian and European designers and is prepared at the samarskom plant OF TSSKB "progress".
Automatic spacecraft "Photon- M" is intended for conducting the experiments in the field of space technologies, production of materials and biological preparations in the interests of different branches of industry and science. The mass of automatic spacecraft comprises more than six and one-half of tons. Scientific equipment is located both inside the descent vehicle and on its external surface. In all on "Photon- M -3" of 16 sets of scientific equipment with overall mass about 640 kg. during the almost two week flight on board the satellite it is established planned to conduct 45 scientific experiments.
After the completion of flight the descent vehicle "Photon- M -3" will return to the earth scientific equipment and results of experiments. Starting KA "Photon- M" with the aid of RN to "Soyuz" is preliminarily outlined on 14 September.
http://www.roscosmos.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=2387
(translated)
22 of August in the assembly and testing housing pl. ?yy2 are planned work with the scientific gear on automatic spacecraft "Photon- M".
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#17 by anik on 29 Aug, 2007 15:28
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According to http://www.federalspace.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=2401 (in Russian), the preparation of Soyuz-U rocket for this launch has begun...
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#18 by anik on 07 Sep, 2007 13:22
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According to http://kz-today.kz/index.php?lang=rus&uin=1138536794&chapter=1153424459 (in Russian), the checking of control system of Foton-M No. 3 satellite and tests of blocks and stages of Soyuz-U rocket are performing now...
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#19 by Kyra's kosmos on 08 Sep, 2007 04:20
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Is that final picture the KRL (transliterated) Command Radio Link station ? I wouldn't be surprised if they are using the same numbered commands as in the 60's. (ie command #6 separates PO from SA, #4 starts the descent cycle, etc. Maybe Anik will comment
I figured I could advance my knowledge of Vostok by learning the details of Foton
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#20 by anik on 11 Sep, 2007 16:31
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Foton-M3 mission to launch European experiments
11 September 2007
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMN5ZMPQ5F_FeatureWeek_0.html
"An unmanned Foton-M3 capsule, carrying a payload of around 40 European experiments, will launch onboard a Soyuz-U rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 13:00 CEST (11:00 UT) this Friday" -
#21 by eeergo on 11 Sep, 2007 22:39
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I have posted this page http://www.yes2.info/?q=frontpage in the opening post of the thread, but I'll repost it again for anyone interested in seeing the last developments in the mission, told by the students involved in YES2. I didn't find any extremely helpful site about Foton, however.
Some amateur photos of the mission, the Soyuz integration buildings, the launch complex and "stupid things" (but always interesting to see for those of us who haven't been there) like everyday life in Baikonur, taken by the team, in here: http://public.fotki.com/fiabo/yes2-baikonur/ -
#22 by anik on 12 Sep, 2007 12:44
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Below are three pages from Roskosmos website with images of installation of scientific equipment into/onto Foton-M No. 3 satellite:
http://www.federalspace.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=2422
http://www.federalspace.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=2424
http://www.federalspace.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=2425
The assembly of the space head part and its docking with Soyuz-U rocket are scheduled for today's evening... Soyuz-U rollout to the launch pad 1/5 is planned tomorrow... -
#23 by star2 on 12 Sep, 2007 19:19
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Launch live web coverage
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#24 by anik on 12 Sep, 2007 19:50
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star2 - 12/9/2007 11:19 PM
Launch live web coverage
Alas, no...
One more page with images of equipment installation has been published on http://www.federalspace.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=2426 -
#25 by star2 on 12 Sep, 2007 20:03
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ok,perhaps after launch on http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/
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#26 by DaveS on 12 Sep, 2007 20:18
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star2 - 12/9/2007 10:03 PM
Don't count it. John44 actually records those videos of Internet streams, so no live launch coverage means no video.
ok,perhaps after launch on http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/ -
#27 by star2 on 12 Sep, 2007 20:26
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ok :frown:
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#28 by eeergo on 12 Sep, 2007 21:37
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Maybe something will spring up in ESA's site between now and launch... but most probably, if we don't get to see it live, some video will appear in either that site or the YES 2.
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#29 by astropl on 13 Sep, 2007 13:01
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anik - 12/9/2007 9:50 PM
Quotestar2 - 12/9/2007 11:19 PM
Launch live web coverage
Alas, no...
The transmission will be webcast from 09:55 to 11:15 GMT from the following site:
http://www.viewontv.com/esa/2007-09_foton-m3/ -
#30 by Satori on 13 Sep, 2007 13:20
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Quote
astropl - 13/9/2007 8:01 AM
Quoteanik - 12/9/2007 9:50 PM
Quotestar2 - 12/9/2007 11:19 PM
Launch live web coverage
Alas, no...
The transmission will be webcast from 09:55 to 11:15 GMT from the following site:
http://www.viewontv.com/esa/2007-09_foton-m3/
This is great! Thank you very much for this!!! -
#31 by anik on 13 Sep, 2007 14:02
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Quote
astropl - 13/9/2007 5:01 PM
Quoteanik - 12/9/2007 9:50 PM
Quotestar2 - 12/9/2007 11:19 PM
Launch live web coverage
Alas, no...
The transmission will be webcast from 09:55 to 11:15 GMT from the following site:
http://www.viewontv.com/esa/2007-09_foton-m3/
Waldemar, thanks for correction and finding!...
Big image of YES2 experiment is on http://www.federalspace.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=2428
Today Soyuz-U rocket with Foton-M No. 3 satellite has been transported to the launch pad No. 1/5... Photos of rollout are on http://www.federalspace.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=2429 (one of photos is below)...
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#32 by Chris Bergin on 14 Sep, 2007 10:02
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No webcast yet, but moved for live coverage.
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#33 by DaveS on 14 Sep, 2007 10:18
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Chris Bergin - 14/9/2007 12:02 PM
Weired. ESA says that the webcast should have started by now as it was set to start at 12:00 CEST, some 18 minutes ago: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM7I713J6F_index_0.html
No webcast yet, but moved for live coverage. -
#34 by Terry Rocket on 14 Sep, 2007 10:18
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Someone@ESA needs to turn on the webcast!
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#35 by Chris Bergin on 14 Sep, 2007 10:26
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Quote
DaveS - 14/9/2007 11:18 AM
QuoteChris Bergin - 14/9/2007 12:02 PM
Weired. ESA says that the webcast should have started by now as it was set to start at 12:00 CEST, some 18 minutes ago: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM7I713J6F_index_0.html
No webcast yet, but moved for live coverage.
Indeed. This is going to be the worst live event thread ever if they don't sort it out!
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#36 by Chris Bergin on 14 Sep, 2007 10:51
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Well, I make it that we're under T-10 minutes.
Given ESA's site isn't exactly something that updates in real time, I have a sneaky feeling the launch may have been scrubbed. That or they are still linking to a dead webcast. -
#37 by Satori on 14 Sep, 2007 11:00
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The list of experiments aboard Foton M-3 can be found here
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#38 by Wisi on 14 Sep, 2007 11:00
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T-0, still no webcast...
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#39 by Chris Bergin on 14 Sep, 2007 11:00
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And there goes the T-0. ESA still with "Foton-M3 on schedule for launch" - but that's an old story. No webcast. Rather frustrating!
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#40 by dutch courage on 14 Sep, 2007 11:06
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ESA updated the web page:
12:55 We regret to announce that for technical reasonst the launch streaming is not available. -
#41 by Satori on 14 Sep, 2007 11:08
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dutch courage - 14/9/2007 6:06 AM
ESA updated the web page:
12:55 We regret to announce that for technical reasonst the launch streaming is not available.
Well, we have to wait for news from Baykonur ... -
#42 by Wisi on 14 Sep, 2007 11:10
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dutch courage - 14/9/2007 1:06 PM
ESA updated the web page:
12:55 We regret to announce that for technical reasonst the launch streaming is not available.
but this was added after T-0, wasn't it? -
#43 by astropl on 14 Sep, 2007 11:15
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Satori - 14/9/2007 1:08 PM
Well, we have to wait for news from Baykonur ...
Launched on time!
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2007/09/14/foton/ -
#44 by Chris Bergin on 14 Sep, 2007 11:16
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Thanks. Very annoying that we didn't get to see this live.
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#45 by astropl on 14 Sep, 2007 11:21
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astropl - 14/9/2007 1:15 PM
Launched on time!
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2007/09/14/foton/
And confirmation of smooth launch from ESA:
Press Release No.28-07, Paris, 14 September 2007
Lift-off for Foton microgravity mission
An unmanned Foton spacecraft, carrying a payload of more than 40 ESA experiments, was successfully launched earlier today. The Soyuz-U launcher lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 13:00 CEST (11:00 GMT).
Nearly 9 minutes later, the Russian Foton-M3 spacecraft separated from the rocket's upper stage and was inserted into a 300 km orbit that will carry it around the Earth once every 90 minutes. -
#46 by nolho on 14 Sep, 2007 11:22
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Very discouraging Especially the communication of ESA
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#47 by dutch courage on 14 Sep, 2007 11:24
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There's an other webcast tonight: European Space Agency News Conference with STS-120 Mission Specialist Paolo Nespoli. This will be broadcast by NASA so that will probably work ok.
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#48 by Satori on 14 Sep, 2007 11:27
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nolho - 14/9/2007 6:22 AM
Very discouraging Especially the communication of ESA
It's not the first time we see situations like this from ESA. Thet realy need to do something abou it. -
#49 by Mighty-T on 14 Sep, 2007 12:01
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Anyway, ESA has sent their best photographer - Stephane Corvaja - to cover the mission. So we can at least expect some nice lift-off images...
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#50 by ADC9 on 14 Sep, 2007 12:08
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Oh, well that is ok then. *rolls eyes* ESA media=joke. 1000s of school students were watching a black screen today
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#51 by mr.columbus on 14 Sep, 2007 12:14
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Quote
Satori - 14/9/2007 7:27 AM
Quotenolho - 14/9/2007 6:22 AM
Very discouraging Especially the communication of ESA
It's not the first time we see situations like this from ESA. Thet realy need to do something abou it.
As long as ESA does not have an explicit mandate to inform the European public about space and engage in education relating to space science etc. (+have a budget worth mentioning to do so), situations like this are bound to reoccur. Technical problems of webcasts etc. need to be tackled beforehand, so that they don't occur when you are about to go live. ESA should take a look at how Arianespace is doing their launch webcasts. -
#52 by sammie on 14 Sep, 2007 12:20
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Shame about the webcast, lets just hope the mission goes well. Somehow I think it's an extremely cool mission, both the hardware (it's heritage) and the possibilities of the Foton/Bion spacecraft are amazing. Hope to see it return in 1 piece and hope that in the future we will see more Foton M launches (with webcast)
Interesting to see that Foton M carried live animals, while it was originally intended for materials processing experiments. Bion on the other hand focused on biological experiments. -
#53 by Chris Bergin on 14 Sep, 2007 12:20
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It's a little ironic that ESA's site is excellent, whereas NASA's site is, errr, not all that great (or you at least need a compass and a survival kit to find the good stuff). Yet NASA's launch coverage is excellent, while ESA's struggles.
Arianespace's webcast, I agree, is superb....you could put that on a TV channel and people would watch.
Frustrating today, but if there's nothing they could do, then there was nothing they could do. Technical issues happen. I'd take mission success over a webcast working, rather than the webcast working and the vehicle failing. -
#54 by pippin on 14 Sep, 2007 12:35
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Quote
Chris Bergin - 14/9/2007 2:20 PM
It's a little ironic that ESA's site is excellent, whereas NASA's site is, errr, not all that great (or you at least need a compass and a survival kit to find the good stuff). Yet NASA's launch coverage is excellent, while ESA's struggles.
Arianespace's webcast, I agree, is superb....you could put that on a TV channel and people would watch.
Frustrating today, but if there's nothing they could do, then there was nothing they could do. Technical issues happen. I'd take mission success over a webcast working, rather than the webcast working and the vehicle failing.
Certainly. Even though... vehicle failing on a live webcast CAN be exciting, too, IIR SeaLaunch earlier this year correctly... -
#55 by DaveS on 14 Sep, 2007 12:44
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Quote
Chris Bergin - 14/9/2007 2:20 PM
They should contract out all the live stuff to Arianespace. At least they know how a webcast should be done!
It's a little ironic that ESA's site is excellent, whereas NASA's site is, errr, not all that great (or you at least need a compass and a survival kit to find the good stuff). Yet NASA's launch coverage is excellent, while ESA's struggles. -
#56 by sammie on 14 Sep, 2007 14:01
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2 questions
*Where there any non ESA experiments on board?
*What was the reason for shifting this launch from Plestek to Baikonur?
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#57 by anik on 14 Sep, 2007 14:15
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Report of Russian NTV channel about this launch is on http://news.ntv.ru/116890/
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#58 by BigRIJoe on 14 Sep, 2007 14:48
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For my money, this mission is more meaniful than SELENE!
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#59 by mr.columbus on 16 Sep, 2007 19:29
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Quote
sammie - 14/9/2007 10:01 AM
2 questions
*Where there any non ESA experiments on board?
Foton-M3 included Russian and Canadian experiments.Quote
*What was the reason for shifting this launch from Plestek to Baikonur?
Foton M2 was launched from Baikonur as well. I am not aware that M3 was scheduled for launch from Plesetsk. -
#60 by sammie on 16 Sep, 2007 20:20
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Quote
Foton M2 was launched from Baikonur as well. I am not aware that M3 was scheduled for launch from Plesetsk.
Sorry, didn't make mysefl clear, historically Foton launches have been from Plestek, up to the M1 failure. I was wondering while the two latest installments of this programme were launches from Baikonur. Thanks for answering the other questions though! -
#61 by kilyerd on 17 Sep, 2007 18:51
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In fact, the Foton-M3 mission was initially planned for plesetsk, then move to Baikonur.
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#62 by Suzy on 18 Sep, 2007 06:33
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Quote
sammie - 14/9/2007 10:20 PM Shame about the webcast, lets just hope the mission goes well. Somehow I think it's an extremely cool mission, both the hardware (it's heritage) and the possibilities of the Foton/Bion spacecraft are amazing. Hope to see it return in 1 piece and hope that in the future we will see more Foton M launches (with webcast) Interesting to see that Foton M carried live animals, while it was originally intended for materials processing experiments. Bion on the other hand focused on biological experiments.
A brief RIA Novosti news item on the creatures the Foton is carrying. Looks like the unfortunate gerbils will be dissected after landing, though!
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#63 by max_schmurz on 24 Sep, 2007 11:16
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If someone wants to watch the webcast of this launch, try to find it here (amateur video, comments in Russian):
http://www.ip4tv.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=111&Itemid=54 -
#64 by anik on 24 Sep, 2007 14:18
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Schedule of events from reports of Russian media:
September 25, 07:55 UTC - Fotino capsule's landing (near Derzhavinsk, Kazakhstan)
September 26, 07:23:39 UTC - Beginning of Foton-M No. 3 satellite's deorbit
September 26, 07:57 UTC - Foton-M No. 3 landing (140 kilometres south of Kustanay, Kazakhstan) -
#65 by jacqmans on 24 Sep, 2007 18:27
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Press Release No.29-2007
Paris, 24 September 2007
Fluid theory confirmed by Foton space experiment
In scientific research, there is great satisfaction when theoretical work is eventually supported by experimentation. Such was the case this week for a team of Italian and US scientists when they received preliminary confirmation of a 10-year-old theory from a fluid science experiment that is currently orbiting the Earth on the Foton-M3 spacecraft.
Although the Foton was only launched a week ago, the scientists are already very excited about the data they have received from their experiment, known as GRADFLEX (GRAdient-Driven FLuctuation EXperiment). The first results are qualitatively consistent with detailed theoretical predictions made over the past decade.
All liquids experience minute fluctuations in temperature or concentration as a result of the different velocities of individual molecules. These fluctuations are usually so small that they are extremely difficult to observe.
In the 1990s, scientists discovered that these tiny fluctuations in fluids and gases can increase in size, and even be made visible to the naked eye, if a strong gradient is introduced. One way to achieve this is to increase the temperature at the bottom of a thin liquid layer, though not quite enough to cause convection. Alternatively, by heating the fluid from above, convection is suppressed, making it possible to achieve more accurate measurements.
Although the early research involved ground-based measurements, it was suggested that the fluctuations would become much more noticeable in a weightless environment. Now, thanks to the Foton mission, the opportunity to test this prediction has come about, and the results completely support the earlier forecast.
"The first images from the experiment were downloaded to the Payload Operations Centre in Kiruna, Sweden, and received on Earth after only a few orbits," explained Professor Marzio Giglio, leader of the team from the Department of Physics and CNR-INFM (Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia), University of Milan, Italy.
To the delight of the science team, the images visually support the theoretical predictions by showing a very large increase in the size of the fluctuations. Data analysis has also shown that the amplitude of the fluctuations in temperature and concentration greatly increased.
"It is a rare event when a space mission is able to confirm a theoretical prediction in such record time," said Olivier Minster, Head of ESA's Physical Sciences Unit. "These results are important because they are the first verification of the effects forecast a decade ago."
"The availability of these images from the spacecraft has enabled us to change what we are doing so that we can optimise the scientific return from the mission," said Professor David Cannell of the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). "We will also have many thousands of images to analyse back in our labs after the experiment returns to Earth. This will keep us busy for quite a while."
"It may be that our results will influence other types of microgravity research, such as the growth of crystals. Our research may even lead to some new technological spin-offs," said Professor Giglio.
GRADFLEX is one of 43 ESA scientific and technological experiments on board the 12-day Foton-M3 mission. The mission is scheduled to end on 26 September, when the re-entry capsule will return to Earth in Kazakhstan. The onboard experiments will be returned to their home institutions where the data will be carefully analysed over the coming months.
LINKS:
Lift-off for Foton microgravity mission
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMQDB13J6F_index_0.html
Foton-M3 mission to launch European experiments:
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMN5ZMPQ5F_FeatureWeek_0.html
False colour images from the Single fluid study, showing temperature fluctuations in a simple, single-component organic fluid on Earth (left) and aboard Foton-M3 (right). The fluctuations in normal gravity on Earth are barely visible.
False colour images showing concentration fluctuations for the Mixture fluid sample on Earth (left) and aboard Foton-M3 (right).
For further information:
Olivier Minster
Head of ESA's Physical Sciences Unit
Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration Programme
+31 71 565 4764
[email protected]
Stefano Mazzoni
ESA GRADFLEX project scientist
Human Spaceflight, Microgravity and Exploration Programme
+31 71 565 8377
[email protected]
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#66 by eeergo on 24 Sep, 2007 18:47
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Thanks for that press release, Jacques, it's nice to know some insight about the 'scientific experiments' whose results don't usually get too publisized.
Could you give a link or attach the images that should be at the end of the release? -
#67 by jacqmans on 24 Sep, 2007 21:02
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#68 by eeergo on 25 Sep, 2007 11:52
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YES 2 has worked according to what was planned: the tether was successfully deployed, the systems all operated nominally (despite some fears they could have frozen because of the attitude of Foton) and Fotino should be on the ground by now. They're still waiting confirmation by the recovery team...
http://www.yes2.info/frontpage -
#69 by astropl on 25 Sep, 2007 12:04
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Quote
eeergo - 25/9/2007 1:52 PM
YES 2 has worked according to what was planned: the tether was successfully deployed, the systems all operated nominally (despite some fears they could have frozen because of the attitude of Foton) and Fotino should be on the ground by now. They're still waiting confirmation by the recovery team...
http://www.yes2.info/frontpage
According to Novosti Kosmonavtiki forum: http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7019&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45
tether was deployed only 8,5 km, not full 30 km. Fotino with tether wasn't deorbited and is space junk now
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#70 by meiza on 25 Sep, 2007 12:29
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The landing is being live blogged at
http://www.yes2.info/frontpage
Latest line as of now is this:QuoteSubmitted by fabio on Tue, 25/09/2007 - 09:10.
All it's silent here in Moscow, no data from the Russians of Foton, no data from ARGOS, no data from Fotino Telemetry from the recovery team.
Tension is building up... -
#71 by eeergo on 25 Sep, 2007 12:55
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Quote
astropl - 25/9/2007 2:04 PM According to Novosti Kosmonavtiki forum: http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7019&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45 tether was deployed only 8,5 km, not full 30 km. Fotino with tether wasn't deorbited and is space junk now
If true (and NK doesn't usually get the things wrong
) it's a real shame. 8,5 km was the initial tether deployment, to be kept until the orbital velocities' difference between Foton and YES2 was great enough to support the 30 km deployement.However, its orbit should decay over the next few months, if not weeks, I presume. It would be real luck, but supposing it fell in a not too remote area, it'd be great if they could manage to recover it, even if the parachutes didn't work because the battery might have depleted.
I'm asking too much, I know :bleh:
EDIT: And, as was predictable, the news was true. This is the last blog update:
Hi people!
Sorry to have been silent so long, but we've been understanding what was going on ourselves.As the tether deployed slower than planned, it reached a length of 8.5 km before the preprogrammed command released Fotino loose from MASS and cut the tether. We are currently assessing the orbit of Fotino to understand when and where the capsule will return to Earth on its parachute.
Despite not having reached the full 30 km deployment, we think that the hard work of the YES2 team has paid off with this largely successful demonstration.
We're going to keep you updated on the news, as soon as they come up. By now here in Moscow there is a lot of activity to analyse the data we received from the Foton and the TeleSupport telemetry.
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#72 by eeergo on 25 Sep, 2007 13:08
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Another update in ESA's site: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMBBBC1S6F_index_0.html
The cause of the failure was apparently a too slow deployement of the tether. However, they say they're assessing the orbit Fotino is in, so that a possible later recovery can be attempted.
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#73 by meiza on 25 Sep, 2007 13:18
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Ok, so it's still in orbit.
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#74 by eeergo on 25 Sep, 2007 19:14
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New and great update: Preliminary Mission Report--> http://www.yes2.info/node/128
[...]Later, during the second stage, the tether slowed down for yet unknown reason, somehow the friction level was significantly too high and could no longer be controlled. We still have to find out the details. It reached a length of 8.5 km stopped, and was swinging below Foton for about 15-20 degrees oscillation, before the preprogrammed commands released Fotino from MASS and cut the tether.
[...]Fotino's batteries are sufficient to survive until re-entry so we can expect tranmission for several days to come. We are looking also for MASS transmission, and as it is tethered, that tether is also orbiting and can be observed from the ground for two or so more days - which then would be useful for scientific and mission analysis. The Fotino electronics for parachute and beacon are designed to deal with this off-nominal case, to guarantee a safe landing, and for us to be able to get detailed information on the whereabouts of the eventual landing, which is to be expected in 4-11 days.
[...]Conclusion YES2: from a perspective of technology development: full success. Tether science: near full success. Education: more than full success. Tether deployment: better than half. Tether safety: full success. Re-entry: still TBD
We are not done yet, as we have a lot of data to plough through now.And a smaller but interesting for Europeans who don't have (like me) lots of clouds in their sky: sighting opportunities of the tether (as wide as the full moon!): http://www.yes2.info/node/129
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#75 by avitek on 26 Sep, 2007 05:59
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Landing of Foton M-3 re-entry vehicle planned 100 km south of town Kustanay in Kazakhstan today 2007-09-26 at approx. 11:57 Moscow time i.e. 07:57 UTC.
See: http://www.rian.ru/science/20070926/80909847-print.html (in Russian) -
#76 by avitek on 26 Sep, 2007 09:52
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Deorbit burn 2007-09-26 07:23:43 UTC
Re-entry vehicle landed today 2007-09-26 07:58 UTC
Coordinates: 51,5 deg N, 63,26 deg E, cca. 170km south of town Kustanay
http://www.rian.ru/technology/cosmos/20070926/80973640.html -
#77 by satcomuk on 26 Sep, 2007 12:01
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The Yes2 site indicates that the tether should have been visible over Europe last night ( Cloudy here )
I am wondering if there's a possibility it might also be viz this evening.
Perhaps someone on the team could update us with possible sighting oportunities for the next 48 hours.
John -
#78 by jacqmans on 27 Sep, 2007 12:58
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The Second Young Engineers' Satellite (YES2) was activated and separated from the Foton-M3 spacecraft earlier today. The tether deployed for 8.5 km, after which the Fotino capsule was released on its way to Earth.
Full story:
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMBBBC1S6F_index_0.html
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#79 by eeergo on 27 Sep, 2007 16:44
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#80 by Nicolas PILLET on 28 Sep, 2007 14:27
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Anyone has seen pictures of the landing?
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#81 by SMS on 29 Sep, 2007 06:58
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Nicolas PILLET - 28/9/2007 4:27 PM
Anyone has seen pictures of the landing?
Yes...in my dreams :laugh: -
#82 by SMS on 29 Sep, 2007 13:22
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Nicolas PILLET - 28/9/2007 4:27 PM
Anyone has seen pictures of the landing?
Here is official info about landing. but no real photo...sorry ! -
#83 by satcomuk on 29 Sep, 2007 14:42
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I think more to the point is ....has anyone seen the tether ?
A number of us have been searching the skies for any hint of the device....with no success.
"If" 8 km has deployed then we would expect to see something.
I very much doubt that the tether will have deployed in a straight line , rather it has probably coiled in some way , thus minimising its visual effect.All the same , I am surprised that so far , no one has actually ssen it. -
#84 by eeergo on 29 Sep, 2007 14:56
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There was a new post in the YES2 page stating that someone had actually taken a photo of the tether, but they were waiting for it to be sent to them. Apparently, even that wasn't the tether, because they've deleted the post since then.
In the preliminary mission report they posted, the tether was indeed deployed in a very crooked line, and it's probably tangled up even more ever since. Also, considering the little weight it has without Fotino, it wouldn't surprise me if it has already burned up (just guessing, though) -
#85 by satcomuk on 29 Sep, 2007 15:43
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The reason I asked is that in a previous mission , a couple of months ago , it was maintained that the tether had deployed abeit much shorter than expected...then after photo evidence and further checks it was found that only a couple of metres had unwound !
The YES2 image you refer to was I think just a spoof. -
#86 by tenzing on 02 Oct, 2007 12:07
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Hi guys,
I'm one of the students involved in the YES2 satellite. Thanks a lot for following our mission evolution, it's a really great feeling for all of us to see that other people are interested in our project!
To reply to what i've read on this forum, as i'm analysing the flight data at the moment, i can confirm that we deployed about 8.5km of the tether. I've read Something got jammed during the second phase, increasing the friction on the tether brake system. At the moment we don't really know what happened up there, we can just make some educated guesses but we have a limited number of sensors to base them on. We're trying to reproduce several senarios by simulation to see what matches the data we got from space. Check the website yes2.info, we'll keep posting things there.
I've spend a couple of freezing and windy nights on the roof of my building to spot the tether, but the weather in holland is so terribly frakking bad that i couldn't see anything. Too bad.. if someone managed to see something, please let me know at mat dash spam at parad0x dot org i'd be glad to hear from you!
Cheers!
Mathieu.
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#87 by eeergo on 02 Oct, 2007 19:22
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Hey, welcome to the site! It's great to have one of you here, you're really lucky (although I suppose you've worked really hard)
I'm really curious to know if you managed to track or estimate Fotino's orbit and predicted decay date, and if there's the faintest possibility you'll be able to recover it. Congratulations for the great job, it's a pity the tether didn't deploy so much, but you've done super!
A tidbit about one of Foton's experiments, involving silk worms... they can't pupate! http://en.rian.ru/science/20071002/82006905.html -
#88 by Feramin on 05 Oct, 2007 10:30
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Hello everybody,
I belong to the working group which send the fish to space on Foton M3.
It was a great pleasure to me to find this forum, because it was possible to get the latest news from here.
We all met in our seminary room to watch the start on the esa page, but, as you all now, this didn't work. So we were happy to get the info from this site, opened a bottle of champaign and wished our little cosmonauts a nice flight.
It's amazing to see how many people are interested in such things and are really well informed about what's going on in Baikonur. The first picture from the integration of our experiment we found through a link on this page.
Thank you
greetings Miri -
#89 by jacqmans on 05 Oct, 2007 20:07
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http://www.roscosmos.ru/NewsDoSele.asp?NEWSID=2486
05.10.2007 about how passed experiments on "Photon- M" ? 3 about how passed experiments on "Photon- M" ? 3 they described in GNTS RF - institute of biomedical problems RAN [RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE] (leader of the programs of biological of studies professor yevgeniy Il'in): - are supplied the first (far from final) sums of the biological experiments, carry ouied in flight on the automatic spacecraft Photon- M 3", which find in flight of 12 days. During the flight of satellite "photon" are carry ouied 26 unique scientific programs to order Of roskosmosa, European space agency and number of other institutes. Interest in the event was enormous. Deputy director GNTS RF -IMBP RAN [Russian Academy of Science] Oleg Orlov noted the significance of the results of experiments for the world science and the long-standing fruitful international collaboration of scientists. Maykl Of skidmor, manager on the project "photon -M3" from NASA - NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION, shares this opinion. The main thing - all animals arrived flying living. 12 sand eels, 20 grape snails, five lizards of gekkonov, 10 tritons, which visited space on the automatic spacecraft "photon", already reach the appropriate scientific specialists and they are lulled to sleep for studying their biomaterial. To speak still early, but we hope about the results of flight that all our hypotheses will be confirmed. Studies on the sand eels can give new material for resolution of questions of the adaptation of the human organism to weightlessness conditions. On the "photon" were studied the influence of weightlessness on the behavior of cockroaches, the development of butterfly in the stage of pupa, the biological properties of the seeds of peanut, increase and development of plants, the chemical composition of the thread of the caterpillars of mulberry silkworm. These results are also necessary for the new manned space flights, overcoming the threats for his organism under the extreme conditions.
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#90 by Nicolas PILLET on 07 Oct, 2007 13:21
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QuoteQuote
Anyone has seen pictures of the landing?
Yes...in my dreams :laugh:
Your dreams are here : http://www.samspace.ru/News/foto.htm -
#91 by SMS on 07 Oct, 2007 18:28
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Nicolas PILLET - 7/10/2007 3:21 PM
Your dreams are here : http://www.samspace.ru/News/foto.htm
Thanks for them, they are GREAT
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#92 by William Graham on 07 Oct, 2007 20:25
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Any news on YES2?
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#93 by meiza on 07 Oct, 2007 20:58
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#94 by MKremer on 07 Oct, 2007 21:52
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meiza - 7/10/2007 3:58 PM
Haha, this guy looks as if it was christmas!
Considering some (many?) of those folks may have worked for years getting their experiments funded, built, and flown, to have it finally safe in their hands after landing is probably quite like finding Santa left a big present for them on Christmas morning.
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#95 by jacqmans on 08 Nov, 2007 15:43
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YES2 team claims a space tether world record
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMUI053R8F_index_0.html
8 November 2007
On 25 September, students around the world watched with bated breath as their creation, the second Young Engineers Satellite (YES2) experiment, reached its dramatic conclusion.
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#96 by Nicolas PILLET on 21 Dec, 2007 13:46
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I have updated my Foton-M3 gallery with a nice picture of the separation of the strap-on boosters :
http://www.kosmonavtika.com/lancements/2007/14092007/14092007photos.html -
#97 by DarthVader on 21 Dec, 2007 16:40
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Lovely set there Nicolas. Thanks :-)
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#98 by meiza on 22 Dec, 2007 22:55
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Warning! Scientists at work!
http://www.kosmonavtika.com/lancements/2007/14092007/14092007-72.jpg -
#99 by Feramin on 25 Jan, 2008 11:13
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Quote
meiza - 22/12/2007 5:55 PM
Warning! Scientists at work!
http://www.kosmonavtika.com/lancements/2007/14092007/14092007-72.jpg
biologists to be exactly, our coleagues from Erlangen. -
#100 by eeergo on 25 Jan, 2008 12:06
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I didn't take a look at the YES2 page since November, but today I came back (thanks to Feramin's bump, I shall say ) and discovered they actually think Fotino may have landed safely, and in Kazakhstan! They are analysing the data from the tensiometers, and that very data shows the tether was released at the right time, and that Fotino was released at the right time too. But, some anomalies are in place yet and they may be the cause why Fotino didn't land (or wasn't seen to land) where it was supposed to. But there's still a chance they will find the little capsule lying in the Kazakh steppe.
Another cool photo, but unrelated to YES2, is that some cables on Foton M3 bearing a YES2 member's fingerprints actually survived reentry, and the fingerprints are still there! I suppose they're in a protected region, and that is expected, but nevertheless it's really amazing something as feeble as a fingerprint can be protected while a few centimeters away hell is raging
Oh, I almost forgot: YES2's page again: http://www.yes2.info/ -
#101 by eeergo on 28 Sep, 2008 21:22
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This mission seems to be slowly coming to a happier than expected end: the successful deployment of the 31.7 km tether is now confirmed, and it appears Fotino may have landed short of its original target due to a steeper than expected reentry angle (if it survived the higher temperatures)
Full story released by ESA: http://www.esa.int/esaED/SEMCO5Q4KKF_index_0.html
And also some neat things like the farewell post by one of the team members, along with the Guiness World Record Organization's certificate for the tether deployment, in YES2's site: http://www.yes2.info/
This mission will be launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz-U rocket, and is intended to do microgravity experiments during the 12 days the mission will last. Lots of new science (I hope) to be done here:
