Vol. 38 No.12, September 2013 Editor: Jos Heyman FBIS
In this issue:
Satellite Update 4 Cancelled projects: Conestoga 5 News Ardusat 3 Arirang-5 7 Dnepr 1 7 Dream Chaser 7 Eutelsat and Satmex 2 Fermi 7 Gsat-14 7 HTV-4 3 iBall 3 Kepler 4 Orion 7 PicoDragon 3 Proton M 2 RCM 2 Russian EVAs 2 SARah 4 SGDC-1 4 SPRINT A 4 TechEdSat-3 3 WGS-6 4
HTV-4 Unpressurised Logistics Carrier with STP-H4
TIROS SPACE INFORMATION Eutelsat and Satmex 86 Barnevelder Bend, Southern River WA 6110, Australia Tel + 61 8 9398 1322 Eutelsat has acquired Mexico’s Satmex, a major communicaions satellite operator in the Latin (e-mail: [email protected]) American region. o o The Tiros Space Information (TSI) - News Bulletin is published to promote the scientific exploration and Satmex has currently three satellites in orbit at 113 W (Satmex-6), 114.9 W (Satmex-5) and commercial application of space through the dissemination of current news and historical facts. 116.8 oW (Satmex-8) and it can be expected that, once the acquisition has been completed, In doing so, Tiros Space Information continues the traditions of the Western Australian Branch of the these satellites will be renamed as part of the Eutelsat family. In addition Satmex has the Astronautical Society of Australia (1973-1975) and the Astronautical Society of Western Australia (ASWA) Satmex-7 and -9 satellites on order from Boeing. It is not clear whether these satellites will (1975-2006). remain on order. The News Bulletin can be received worldwide by e-mail subscription only. Subscriptions can be requested by sending an e-mail address to [email protected]. Tiros Space Information reserves the right to refuse Eutelsat has also announced that it has ordered the Eutelsat 65 West A satellite from any subscription request without the need to provide a reason. All opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Editor or Space/Systems Loral which, after its launch in early 2016, will serve the Latin American Tiros Space Information. market. The LS-1300 platform will be fitted with 10 C band, 24 Ku band and 24 Ka band All material contained in this publication may be reproduced provided due acknowledgment is made. transponders.
Calling card... RCM
Canada’s MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) has booked the Falcon 9 for the launch of its three Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM) Earth observation satellites. The launches will take place in 2018.
Proton M
ISL, the launch company, expects to resume the use of the Proton M launch vehicle on 15 On 31 August 1973 the Western Australian Branch of the Astronautical Society of Australia September 2013 although Russian officials have denied this. was established and issued its News Bulletin shortly afterwards. Two years later this became The investigation into the launch failure of 2 July 2013 has revealed that the failure was the Astronautical Society of Western Australia which remained in existence until 2006 when caused by the incorrect installation of sensors detecting speed and direction. the News Bulletin, the only remaining activity of the Society, was taken over by Tiros Space By the end of the year up to five Proton M launches are expected to have taken place. Information. This means that this News Bulletin celebrates a 40 years heritage which Meanwhile, the Russian Prime Minister has reprimanded the chief of the Roskosmos space continues in our use of the logo of the long abolished Astronautical Society of Australia. agency, Vladimir Popovkin, for failing to carry out his duties properly.
Russian EVAs
On 16 August 2013 cosmonauts Yurchikhin and Misurkin made an EVA of 7 hours, 29 minutes during which they installed equipment and routed power cables for the arrival of the Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module. They also installed a panel of experiments on the Poisk module to collect data on the effects of the microgravity environment in low-Earth orbit.
They made a second EVA of 5 hours, 59 minutes on 22 August 2013, during which they removed a space laser communications system from the hull of the Zvezda service module OK, I realise that it reads Vol. 38 on the top of the current issue, but that is because of a and installed a pointing platform on which a small optical telescope will be installed on a future rather strange decision in November 1975, when, with the corporate change, we started with Russian spacewalk. number 1 again. Really, the first News Bulletin was published in September 1973.
Jos Heyman Tiros Space Information – News Bulletin, September 2013, page 2
HTV-4, PicoDragon, TechEdSat-3 and Ardusat
The HTV-4 cargo spacecraft that was launched on 3 August 2013 and docked with the ISS on 9 August 2013, carried 5400 kg of cargo/supplies to the ISS of which 3900 kg was in the Pressurized Logistics Carrier and 1500 kg on the Unpressurized Logistics Carrier. The HTV-4 pressurized module contained 8 HTV Resupply Racks with station supplies and equipment. The payload also included four cubesats which will be launched through the Kibo module at a later date. The first one is PicoDragon, a single cubesat that carries two amateur radio downlinks and has been developed by the Vietnam National Satellite Centre.
The Technical and Educational Satellite (TechEdSat)-3 is a 3U cubesat that has been developed at the San Jose State University (SJSU) and the University of Idaho. The satellite will test the Exo-Brake passive de-orbit system which has been mounted in two of the three cubesat units. After deployment of the satellite the Exo-Brake system will be activated and it is expected that it will de-orbit the satellite within 10 days. ArduSat Edu kit
The pressurised cargo also included Kirobo, the humanoid robot referred to in the February 2013 issue of the News Bulletin.
The unpressurised cargo included the Space Test Program-Houston (STP-H)-4, a suite of seven experiments to investigate space communications, Earth observation and materials sciences. Two orbital replacement units (ORU), comprising a spare Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) and a spare Utility Transfer Assembly (UTA), both to keep the space station’s electrical system operating smoothly, were also carried as unpressurised cargo. HTV-4 is expected to undock on 5 September 2013 at which time it will carry the Space Test Program-Houston (STP-H)-3 experiment towards destruction in the atmosphere two days later. After undocking and just before the break-up of the of the spacecraft, the i-Ball re-entry recorder, a 22 kg, 40 cm diameter sphere developed by IHI Aerospace, will be released from a container. The sphere will descend whilst suspended from a parachute, and record data, including still images, during the re-entry in order to increase the knowledge on what happens during re-entry. On landing in the sea i-Ball will stay afloat for data transmission but will Exo-Brake eventually sink. This capsule was also carried on the previous HTV-3 spacecraft.
The first TechEdSat was deployed on 4 October 2012. No data is available on TechEdSat-2. i-Ball
Finally Arduino Satellite (Ardusat) -1 and –X are two 1U cubesats developed by NanoSatisfi
Inc., as a crowd funded project to provide a platform on which students and DIY space enthusiasts can run their own space - based Arduino experiments. The primary payload is a bank of Arduino processors which can sample data from the satellite’s imaging payload, and on board sensors. Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments. NanoSatisfi is a small San Francisco based company that offers a special ArduSat educational kit for US$50 and sells three days operating time on board of its satellites for US$125. Experiment time of two weeks will cost US$450.
Tiros Space Information – News Bulletin, September 2013, page 3
Satellite Update SARah
Launches in July 2013 Germany has ordered the follow up to its SAR-Lupe radar reconnaissance satellite constellation that is being operated by the German military. Int.Des. Name Launch date Launch vehicle Country Notes To be known as SARah, the constellation will consist of one active satellite (SARah Aktiv-1) to 2013 034A IRNSS-R1A 1-Jul-2013 PSLV XL India be built by EADS Astrium, and two passive satellite (SARah Passiv-1 and -2 ) to be built by --- Glonass M 2-Jul-2013 Proton M/Briz M Russia 3 satellites failed OHB-System. 2013 035A SJ-11-5 15-Jul-2013 CZ 2C China Technology The latter two satellites will fly at an altitude of 500 km in formation with the active satellite and 2013 036A MUOS-2 19-Jul-2013 Atlas V-551 USA Military comsat will register the reflected signals of the active satellite. The active satellite will fly at a higher 2013 037A SJ-15 19-Jul-2013 CZ 4C China Technology altitude of about 750 km. 2013 037B CX-3 19-Jul-2013 CZ 4C China Technology The satellites are expected to have a mass of up to 2000 kg and will carry more powerful 2013 037C Shiyan-7 19-Jul-2013 CZ 4C China Technology processing and storage facilities, allowing more images to be taken. 2013 038A Alphasat I-XL 25-Jul-2013 Ariane 5ECA ESA Maritime comsat 2013 038B Insat-3D 25-Jul-2013 Ariane 5ECA India Meteorological The three satellite will be placed in orbit by two Falcon 9 launches that are expected to take 2013 039A Progress M- 27-Jul-2013 Soyuz U Russia Docked with ISS place in 2018 and 2019. 20M on 27 July 2013
Other updates SPRINT-A
Int. Des. Name Notes Japan’s Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere 1998 067CP Fitsat-1 Re-entered 4 July 2013. Was released from ISS on 4 October 2012 (SPRINT-A) spacecraft was scheduled to be launched on 27 August 2013 with an Epsilon 2011 005A Geo IK 2-1 Re-entered 15 July 2013 launch vehicle but the launch was aborted 19 seconds before the scheduled time. The 2013 007A Progress M- Re-entered 26 July 2013 satellite was to be placed in a 250 x 1150 km orbit with an inclination of 31°. 18M The objective of SPRINT-A is the remote observation of the planets such as Venus, Mars, and 2013 015B OSSI-1 Re-entered 8 July 2013 Jupiter from an orbit around the Earth with a particular emphasis on how the atmospheric
environments of these planets evolved from a common environment at the beginning of the
solar system into their current unique atmospheric environments with an emphasis on the WGS-6 impact of a strong solar wind on the evolution of those environments. The 320 km spacecraft will carry an extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) imaging spectrometer for On 8 August 2013 a Delta 4 Medium+ (56,4) launch vehicle placed the WGS-6 satellite into undertaking the observations. orbit. In addition the instrument will observe extreme ultraviolet light from Jupiter’s moon Io to This latest satellite in the Wideband Global SATCOM constellation was, however, fully funded examine how the transfer of energy in the plasma environment of the Jupiter takes place by Australia in exchange of which Australia gained access to the worldwide coverage through the observation of a sulphur ion flowing out from Io. provided by the US operated system. A similar deal has been struck for the WSG-9 satellite which is being jointly funded by Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and New Zealand. Kepler
The Kepler observatory that was launched on 6 March 2009, has now lost two of its four SGDC-1 gyroscope-like reaction wheels. The first ceased to function in July 2012 and the second in May 2013. To perform its planned observation programme search for Earth sized planets Brazil’s Telebras has ordered the Satélite Geoestacionário de Defesa e Comunicações outside the solar system, it requires at least three of the reaction wheels working to maintain Estratégicas (SGDC)-1 communications satellite from Thales Alenia. The satellite will be its attitude in orbit. based on the Spacebus 4000 and will be fitted with X and Ka band transponders for use by Attempts to restore one of the reaction wheels back into a working condition failed and military as well as civilian authorities. The satellite will be launched in 2016 with an Ariane scientists are now considering what scientific programme can be pursued using the two 5ECA and will be located at 75°W. remaining reaction wheels and, if necessary, the spacecraft thrusters, for attitude control. The initial programme was completed in November 2012 at which point in time a four year extension was started. Based on data collected by Kepler, 135 exoplanets have been confirmed whilst there are another 3500 candidates for which the data is still being analysed. Tiros Space Information – News Bulletin, September 2013, page 4
Cancelled Projects: Conestoga
By Jos Heyman
One of the earliest attempts to have a privately-funded commercial launch vehicle, was undertaken by Houston-based Space Services, Inc. of America (SSIA). This company was established in 1980 by David Hannah and, in an effort to dramatically reduce launch costs, they pursued the development of a simple pressure-fed kerosene-oxidizer engine that would reduce the costs associated with "throwing away" the booster. By clustering the basic modules, it was envisaged to build up a launch vehicle to fit specific payloads.
The result was the Percheron launch vehicle which would have consisted of a cluster of basic liquid fuelled rocket stages with a small upper stage. The basic core module had a diameter of 1.2 m and a length of 18 m. However, the first rocket that was built, consisting of a single core module, exploded during an engine test firing on Matagorda Island on 5 August 1981.
Percheron failure Conestoga 1
Following this failure, Space Services abandoned the concept and, based on advice from A test flight of the Conestoga 1, consisting of just the M-56A1 stage and two dummy upper former astronaut Deke Slayton who had been hired, started to look at a solid fuelled launched stages was conducted on 9 September 1982 from Matagorda Island. At an altitude of 313 km based on the second stage of the Minuteman ICBM. the payload was ejected and fell back to Earth. Designated as Conestoga 1 the launch vehicle was aimed at small commercial payloads. It was to be a three stage vehicle with the first stage being driven by an Aerojet M-56A1, the In 1989 SSIA became involved in the Consort programme, initiated by NASA’s Office for second stage by a Hercules M-57A1 solid fuelled engine, whereas the third and upper stage Commercial Programs and the Consortium for Materials Development in Space (CMDS) at the were probably to be driven by a Thiokol Star 20 solid rocket motor which would give a University of Alabama, Huntsville. This programme required SSIA not only to provide a rocket for capability of placing a 100 kg payload into low-Earth orbit. It was envisaged that the first flight the sub-orbital flight to place a number of commercial microgravity experiments, but also to seek would take place in 1983. the customers.
For the rocket SSIA selected a version of the Canadian Black Brant 9 sounding rocket and called it Starfire 1. It was capable to place 2 m 3 of payloads into orbit. Tiros Space Information – News Bulletin, September 2013, page 5
The first flight took place on 29 March 1989 and, collectively designated as Consort-1, six microgravity experiments were carried to an altitude of 308 km. The flight, like all subsequent Starfire 1 flights, took place from White Sands. A second flight, designated as Consort-2, took place on 15 November 1989 but failed at an altitude of 10 km. A third flight, Consort-3 with 12 microgravity experiments reached an altitude of 304 km on 16 May 1990.
But, by now SSIA was in financial trouble as Ventures Inc., its major financial backer, had withdrawn its support valued at $ 6 million. In December 1990 SSIA (or rather part thereof) was acquired by EER Systems and operations were continued as the Space Services Division of EER Systems. EER Systems was originally established in 1970 to provide Landsat image enhancement services. The first version that was developed was the Conestoga 1620 whilst EER Systems also had plans for the EER Systems continued the Starfire 1 programme with another five launches on 16 smaller 1229. The larger Conestoga versions had not November 1991 (Consort-4, 9 experiments to 298 km), 10 September 1992 (Consort-5, 5 yet moved into development when the company ran experiments to 235 km, considered a failure), 19 February 1993 (Consort-6, 6 experiments to out of money and cancelled further development. . 301 km), 8 December 1994 (CSAR-2, Canadian experiments to 254 km) and 3 April 1996 (Conquest-1, an aeronomy mission to 281 km). The core stage of the Conestoga 1620 was powered by a Castor IVA and was surrounded by 6 strap-ons, Starfire 2, to be powered by a Thiokol Castor 4B rocket engine and Starfire 3, a two stage vehicle consisting of 4 Castor IVB and 2 Castor IVA. Four of with two Castor 4B driving the first stage and a single Castor 4B for the second stage, never these would fire with the first stage at lift-off, the other materialized. two would fire with the first upper stage. A single Castor powered the second upper stage. Above this EER Systems was also looking at the development of a launch vehicle for smaller payloads, was a Star 48 stage for orbit injection. using again the Conestoga name. Again the concept of clustering was adopted this, time using the Thiokol Castor solid fuelled rocket engine. The Conestoga 1620 launch was on 23 October 1995 from Wallops Island. The vehicle carried the Multiple The basic Conestoga vehicle consisted of two stages made up from Castor engines clustered Experiment Transporter to Earth Orbit and Return around a core motor. Some of the clustered engines performed with the first stage, others with payload (METEOR)-1, a recoverable payload that the second stage. This was topped by one or two upper stages that were powered by carried 14 microgravity experiments. established rocket motors, including a small hydrazine powered Hydrazine Maneuvering and The launch was originally to take place on 4 August Attitude Control System (HMACS) stage. 1995 but was delayed several times as a result of problems. This gave rise to a number of variants which were identified by a four digit version number: • First digit was the type of core and cluster motors: 1 = Castor 4A/B, 2 = not known, 3 Unfortunately the launch vehicle disintegrated midair = Castor 4AXL/4BXL, 4 = not know, 5 = GEM-40/40VN; 46 seconds after launch, at an altitude of 10 km. The • Second digit was the number of strap-ons around the core; failure was later attributed to low frequency noise • Third digit was the type of the first upper stage: 0 = none, 1= Star 37FM, 2 = Star from an unknown source upsetting the rocket’s 48V, 3 = Orion 50, 4 = not known, 5 = Star 48A, 6 = Star 63D, 7 = Star 63V, 8 = not guidance system on the rocket, causing it to order known, 9 = HMACS; course corrections when none were needed. The rocket’s first stage steering mechanism ran out of • Fourth digit was the type of the second upper stage with the same types as for the third digit. hydraulic fluid and became inoperable.
Versions that were initially envisaged were 1229 (363 kg capacity, 1379 (771 kg), 1620 (1179 kg), 1669 (1361 kg), 1679 (1497 kg) and 3632 (2141 kg). Conestoga 1620
Tiros Space Information – News Bulletin, September 2013, page 6
EER Systems had, however, also problems in attracting payloads to be launched. Dream Chaser The second flight was planned with the Miniature Seeker Technology Integration (MSTI)-5 but this satellite had been cancelled in 1994. EER Systems had also a contract for five Conestoga launches for the Strategic Defense Initiative Office (SDIO) but that was cancelled along with other cancellations in that programme.
Without these payloads as a backlog, EER Systems decided to get out of the rocket business. A second METEOR mission, planned for 1996, was also cancelled.
EER Systems continued it activities in communication systems, training and simulation equipment and hardware and software for the U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. It was purchased by L-3 Communications in 2001 for $110 million. Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser, one of the contenders in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, has successfully completed tests at Edwards AFB to assess the spacecraft's braking and After the 1990 sale of the rocket business to EER Systems, Space Services, Inc. of America landing systems. In four tests a truck pulled the flight vehicle across concrete runways at continued to operate as a space services company and it currently provides star naming speeds of 10, 20, 40 and 60 mph to verify the integrity of spacecraft's performance under services as well as space memorial services through its subsidiary company, Celestis. landing and rollout conditions. On 22 August 2013 the engineering test article of the Dream Chaser was lifted by a helicopter over Edwards AFB for period of 2 hours to test the flight computer, guidance, navigation and Dnepr 1, Arirang-5 control systems, aerosurfaces prior to landing tests. The landing gear and nose skid also were deployed during flight.
A series of free flight tests, with landings at Edwards AFB, is planned for the coming months. On 31 July 2013 Kosmostrans announced the forthcoming launch of two Dnepr 1 launch vehicles from the Yasni launch site.
As stated in the June 2013 issue of the News Bulletin, Dnepr 1 launches had been suspended in 2011 by the Russian Defense Ministry based on the financial aspects of the program. Gsat-14 Subsequently, in May 2013, it was decided by the Russian and Ukrainian governments to undertake the two launches. On 19 August 2013 an attempt to launch the Gsat-14 satellite with a GSLV launch vehicle was The first launch took place on 22 August 2013 and placed the South Korean Arirang-5 (also called off when a leak in the fuel system was discovered. The launch vehicle was rolled back known as Kompsat-5) satellite in orbit. to the assembly building for repairs. The second launch will place a cluster of small satellites in orbit. The launch date for that flight Gsat-14 was to be placed in a geostationary orbit at 74 oE. Based on the I-2K platform, the will be announced shortly. The satellites concerned are DubaiSat-2 (the United Arab 1982 kg satellite is fitted with 6 extended C-band transponders and 6 Ku band transponders to Emirates), BPA-3 (Ukraine), SkySat-1 (United States), IsiPod (Netherlands), StSat-3 (South provide educational and medical communications services. Korea), three SSL satellites (Canada), AprizeSat-7 and AprizeSat-8 (United States) and In addition the satellite carries 2 Ka band beacons that will be used to carry out studies related UniSat-5 (Italy). to rain and atmospheric effects on Ka band satellite communication links in Indian region. The satellite also carries several new technology experiments, a Fiber Optic Gyro, an Active Pixel Sun Sensor and Thermal control coating experiments. Orion
NASA has successfully conducted a stationary recovery test of the Orion spacecraft. The test Fermi took place on 15 August 2013 on board of the USS Arlington at the Norfolk Naval Station. This will pave the way for further tests including a West Coast underway recovery test The Fermi Gamma ray Large Area Telescope (GLAST), which had been launched on 11 June planned for January 2014 and the recovery of a low-orbit module following splashdown in the 2008, completed its primary five year mission in August 2013. The programme has now been third quarter of 2014. extended for another five years during which it will continue to observe the high energy The recent test was specifically designed to verify that the requirement to have the crew hatch cosmos. opened within two hours of splashdown, is a realistic goal. The objective of Fermi is to detect X-rays and gamma rays in a range from thousands to hundreds of billions of times more energy than the light visible to the human eye.
Tiros Space Information – News Bulletin, September 2013, page 7