Jonathan's Space Report No. 691 2013 Dec 15, Somerville, MA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chang'e-3 --------- Chang'e-3 was in lunar polar orbit from Dec 6 to Dec 14. On Dec 10 at 1320 UTC the orbit was lowered from 100 x 100 to 15 x 100 km. At 1259:52 UTC Dec 14, near perilune, the descent engine was turned on to decelerate the probe and fly it down to the surface. Chang'e-3 touched down at 1311:18 UTC Dec 14, at 19.51W 44.12N, about 43 km south of crater Laplace F in the Mare Imbrium. This was the first lunar soft landing since the USSR's Luna-24 in 1976. Note: The original planned landing site was in Sinus Iridum (Bay of Rainbows) but the Chinese decided to land one orbit early, with the probe flying a little further east over Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains). Unfortunately many of the media reports appear to have missed that memo... At 2035 UTC on Dec 14 the `Yutu hao' (`rabbit') rover drove down the Chang'e-3 ramp onto the lunar surface. Yutu and Chang'e-3 are both solar powered, but also carry small Pu-238 radioactive heater units to keep systems from freezing during the 14-day lunar night (see Dwayne Day's article at http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2401/1). Yutu has six wheels and a mass of around 140 kg. The CZ-3B third stage rocket was launched to a 311 x 352280 km x 29.6 deg orbit which passed close to the Moon at around 1100 UTC on Dec 6 and, according to tracking by astronomers, is currently in a 106000 x 662000 km x 35.8 deg orbit around the Earth-Moon system. See Bill Gray's page at http://www.projectpluto.com/pluto/mpecs/che3.htm for details. Lunar robotic landings ---------------------- Active on lunar surface Luna-9 (E-6M No. 202) 1966 Feb 3 - 1966 Feb 6 Planitia Descensus Surveyor 1 1966 Jun 2 - 1967 Jan 7 Flamsteed P Crater Luna-13 (E-6M No. 205) 1966 Dec 24- 1966 Dec 28 Oceanus Procellarum Surveyor 3 1967 Apr 20- 1967 May 4 Surveyor Crater, Oc. Proc. Surveyor 5 1967 Sep 11- 1967 Dec 17 Mare Tranquillitatis Surveyor 6 1967 Nov 10- 1967 Dec 14 Sinus Medii Surveyor 7 1968 Jan 10- 1968 Feb 21 Tycho Crater Luna-16 [Sample return] 1970 Sep 20 -1970 Sep 21 Mare Fecunditatis Luna-17 1970 Nov 17- 1970 Nov 17 Mare Imbrium Lunokhod-1 rover 1970 Nov 17- 1971 Oct? Luna-20 [Sample return] 1972 Feb 21 -1972 Feb 22 Apollonius C Crater Luna-21 1973 Jan 15 -1973 Jan 16? Le Monnier Crater Lunokhod-2 rover 1973 Jan 16 -1973 Jun 3 Luna-23 1974 Nov 6 -1974 Nov 9 Mare Crisium Luna-24 [Sample return] 1976 Aug 18 -1976 Aug 19 Mare Crisium Chang'e-3 2013 Dec 14 - Mare Imbrium Yutu rover 2013 Dec 14 - Yutu is the sixth wheeled vehicle on the Moon following the two Lunokhods and the three Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicles. International Space Station ---------------------------- Expedition 38 continues with commander Oleg Kotov, and flight engineers FE-2 Sergey Ryazanskiy, FE-3 Michael Hopkins, FE-4 Mikhail Tyurin, FE-5 Rick Mastracchio and FE-6 Koichi Wakata. Ferry ship Soyuz TMA-10M is at Poisk and TMA-11M is at Rassvet. Cargo ship Progress M-20M is at the Pirs module and Progress M-21M is at the Zvezda module. A problem developed on Dec 11 with the Pump Module on ETCS Loop A, one of the Station's two cooling loops. With only loop B operating, various ISS systems had to be shut down to reduce the amount of heat being generated. It seems likely - but not yet certain - that a series of spacewalks will be needed to replace the module. The newly failed Pump Module is serial number S/N 04 (PM-1), which was launched on STS-121 in 2006 and stored on External Stowage Platform 2 until Aug 2010, when it was installed in the S1 truss to replace another Pump Module, S/N 02, which had failed after 8 years in space. The P1 truss hosts the Loop B PM (unknown serial number) which has been operating since 2002. There are three spares on ISS: PM S/N 02 (Loop A) - Launched 2002, failed 2010, returned to Earth 2011 PM S/N Unknown (Loop B) - Launched 2002, active PM S/N 04 (Spare 1) - Launched 2006, in use 2010, failed on S1 truss 2013 PM S/N Unknown (Spare 2) - Launched 2009, stored on ESP-3 PM S/N 07 (Spare 3) - Launched 2009, stored on ELC-2 PM S/N 05 (Spare 4) - Launched 2009, stored on ELC-1 The pump modules have a mass of 354 kg. (If you can fill in the gaps in the serial numbers, please contact me at planet4589@gmail.com) SES-8 ----- SpaceX carried out its first geostationary transfer launch on Dec 3. Payload was the SES-8 satellite, a 3100-kg Orbital Star-2.4 for SES World Skies. The second flight of the uprated Falcon 9 v1.1, and its first from Cape Canaveral, appears to have been a complete success. After reaching parking orbit the second stage reignited at 2308 UTC and placed SES-8 in a 423 x 79977 km x 20.47 deg supersynchronous transfer orbit. SpaceX does not appear to have released the parameters of the parking orbit but it appears to have been around 300 x 400 km x 28.5 deg. [Note: this analysis is based on the tracking data which was probably taken at high altitudes, so the perigee estimate may be inaccurate]. Around 1545 UTC on Dec 5 SES-8 reached first apogee and raised its orbit to 14401 x 80416 km x 6.2 deg, and then the next day to 35823 x 79932 km x 1.2 deg. Apogee was then lowered on Dec 11 and the orbit is now 35681 x 45299 km x 0.5 deg, with a further apogee lowering burn needed to reach GEO once the spacecraft is in the right spot. Inmarsat 5F1 ------------ Inmarsat PLC's first Inmarsat 5 satellite, carrying the Ka-band Global XPress communications payload, was launched from Baykonur on Dec 8. The Inmarsat 5 satellites, with 6090 kg launch mass, are BSS-702HP models built by Boeing/El Segundo. The Proton reached a -495 x 170 km orbit and the first Briz burn put the stack in a 173 x 173 km parking orbit. Further burns delivered I5-F1 to a 4306 x 64809 km x 26.7 deg supersynchronous transfer orbit via intermediate orbits of 295 x 6000 km, 360 x 14847 km, and 475 x 65044 km. The Briz-M stage and drop tank are being tracked, but there seems to be no orbital data yet for the payload. CBERS 3 ------- A new China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite was launched on Dec 9. Zi Yuan 1 No. 3 was launched from Taiyuan Space Center. Brazilian sources initially reported the launch was a success, but it now appears that the CZ-4B rocket failed to reach orbit. A news story on globo.com cited in nasaspaceflight.com reports that stage 3 cutoff was 11 seconds too early. I estimate an approximate orbit of around -150 x 720 km x 98.5 deg, with impact in the Antarctic around 0407 UTC; however, the uncertainties are large and this estimate could be way off. Suborbital launches ------------------- On Dec 14 the Iranian Space Agency launched a Shahab-1 liquid propellant missile from the Imam Khomeini Space Center in Semnan province on a 120 km suborbital flight, carrying a 3 kg, 3 year old rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) named Fargam. This was the fourth Iranian monkey in space, and the second to return successfully following the Kavoshgar Pisgham ('Pioneer Probe') mission in January. The use of a liquid fuel missile provides gentler acceleration than the small solid propellant sounding rockets used for earlier experiments. The Kavoshgar Pazhuhesh ('Research Probe') flight was the first 'Class D' mission of the Kavoshgar series. The payload was developed by the Institute of Astronautical Systems, which I believe is part of the Aerospace Research Institute in Tehran. A new web site, kavoshgar.ari.ac.ir, gives new details of this and earlier flights; I summarize the program below. The M5 rocket used for the first flight is a small vehicle, possibly similar to the Nazeat class sounding rocket used for flights 2 and 3. Kavoshgar flights (best current info) ----------------- Date Payload Rocket Apogee/km Mission 2008 Feb 4 Kavoshgar 1 M5 10 Telemetry test? Failed? 2008 Nov 26 Kavoshgar 2 Nazeat-6? 40 Capsule B recovery test 2010 Feb 3 Kavoshgar 3 Nazeat-6? 55 Capsule B rec., with turtles,mice 2011 Mar 15 Kavoshgar 4 Fateh? K110 135 Capsule C recovery test 2011 Sep 7 Kavoshgar 5 Fateh? K110 120 Capsule C/Monkey, crashed on recovery 2012 Sep 8 Kavoshgar 6 Fateh? K110 120 Capsule C/Monkey, crashed on recovery 2013 Jan 28 Kavoshgar Pishgam Fateh? K110 120 Capsule C/Monkey, successful 2013 Dec 14 Kavoshgar Pazhuhesh Shahab-1 120 Capsule D/Monkey, successful The Shahab-1 was based on the Soviet R-11 and was originally used in 1985 in Iranian missile attacks on Iraq during those two countries' long war; it is several generations behind the latest Iranian military missiles, the liquid fuel Shahab-3 and Ghadr missiles based on the North Korean Nodong, and the domestically developed solid fuel Sejjil-2. Roughly speaking, one prefers solid fuel in ballistic missiles for storability and rapid launch, but liquid fuel in human spaceflight launchers for gentler acceleration and more controllable abort modes, so it makes sense for retired large liquid fuel missiles to be transferred to the research program as Iran masters the larger solids for military use - just as liquid fuel Atlas and Thor missiles were recycled as space launch vehicles when the solid fuel Minuteman took over the bulk of ICBM duties. Table of Recent (orbital) Launches ---------------------------------- Date UT Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL. Nov 5 0908 Mars Orbiter Spacecraft PSLV-XL Sriharikota Mars probe 60A Nov 7 0414 Soyuz TMA-11M Soyuz-FG Baykonur LC1 Spaceship 61A Nov 11 2346 Raduga-1M Proton-M/Briz-M Baykonur LC81/24 Comms 62A Nov 18 1828 MAVEN Atlas V 401 Canaveral SLC41 Mars probe 63A Nov 19 1218 PicoDragon ) ISS, LEO Tech 98-067DA Ardusat-1 ) Tech 98-067DB Ardusat-X ) Tech 98-067DC Nov 20 0115 STPSAT-3 ) Minotaur I Wallops I LA0B Tech 64A ORS-3 ) Tech 64 TJ3Sat ) Tech 64 DragonSat ) Tech 64 COPPER ) Tech 64 ChargerSat 1 ) Tech 64 SwampSat ) Tech 64 Ho'oponopono 2 ) Radar cal 64 KySat-2 ) Tech 64 CAPE 2 ) Tech 64 Trailblazer ) Tech 64 Vermont Lunar Cubesat ) Tech 64 PhoneSat-2.4 ) Tech 64 NPS-SCAT ) Tech 64 Black Knight 1 ) Tech 64 Firefly ) Science 64 Horus/STARE-B ) Space Surv. 64 SENSE-A ) Ionospheric 64 SENSE-B ) Ionospheric 64N ORSES ) Comms 64 ORS Tech 1 ) Tech 64 ORS Tech 2 ) Tech 64 Prometheus 1A? ) Comms 64 Prometheus 1B? ) Comms 64 Prometheus 2A? ) Comms 64 Prometheus 2B? ) Comms 64 Prometheus 3A? ) Comms 64 Prometheus 3B? ) Comms 64 Prometheus 4A? ) Comms 64 Prometheus 4B? ) Comms 64 Nov 20 0331 Yaogan 19 Chang Zheng 4C Taiyuan Imaging 65A Nov 20 0758 TechEdSat-3p ISS, LEO Tech 98-067DD Nov 21 0710 Dubaisat-2 ) Imaging 66D SkySat-1 ) Dnepr Yasniy Imaging 66C STSat-3 ) Astronomy 66G AprizeSat-7 ) Comms 66A AprizeSat-8 ) Comms 66K WNISAT-1 ) Weather 66H Lem ) Astronomy 66R GOMX-1 ) Comms 66Q Dove-3 ) Imaging 66P Delfi-3nXt ) Tech 66N Triton 1 ) Comms/AIS 66M KHUSAT-1 ) Science 66J KHUSAT-2 ) Science 66L OPTOS ) Tech 66E Manolito ) Tech 66AB Krysaor ) Tech 66AA UWE-3 ) Tech 66Z VELOX-P2 ) Tech 66Y First-MOVE ) Tech 66AG FUNcube-1 ) Tech 66AE HINCube-1 ) Tech 66B Tshepiso ) Tech 66AF BPA-3 ) Tech 66AJ Unisat-5 ) Tech 66F Dove-4 ) Imaging 66 ICUBE-1 ) Tech 66 PUCPSat-1 ) Tech 66 Pocket-PUCP ) Tech 66 HUMSAT-D ) Tech 66 QBScout-1 ) Tech 66 BeakerSat-1 ) Tech 66 $50SAT ) Tech 66 WREN ) Tech 66 Nov 22 1202 SWARM-1 ) Rokot Plesetsk Science 67A SWARM-2 ) Science 67B SWARM-3 ) Science 67C Nov 25 0212 Shiyan 5 Weixing Chang Zheng 2D Jiuquan Tech/Sci? 68A Nov 25 2053 Progress M-21M Soyuz-U Baykonur LC31 Cargo 69A Dec 1 1730 Chang'e-3 ) Chang Zheng 3BE Xichang Moon probe 70A Yutu ) Rover Dec 3 2241 SES-8 Falcon 9 v1.1 Canaveral SLC40 Comms 71A Dec 6 0714 TOPAZ 3? ) Atlas V 501 Vandenberg SLC3E Radar 72A Aerocube 5a ) Tech 72D Aerocube 5b ) Tech 72E SMDC-ONE 2.3) Comms 72N SMDC-ONE 2.4) Comms 72L Tacsat 6 ) Tech? 72M ALICE ) Tech 72F SNAP-3 ) Tech? 72G FIREBIRD A ) Sci 72B FIREBIRD B ) Sci 72C MCubed-2 ) Tech/Imaging 72H IPEX ) Tech 72K CUNYSAT 1 ) Sci 72J Dec 8 1212 Inmarsat 5 F1 Proton-M/Briz-M Baykonur LC200/39 Comms 73A Dec 9 0326 ZY-1 No. 3 Chang Zheng 4B Taiyuan Imaging F03 Table of Recent (suborbital) Launches ---------------------------------- Date UT Payload/Flt Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission Apogee/km Nov 3 0925 NASA 36.294UH Black Brant IX White Sands X-ray Astron 280? Nov 12 1615? SL-8 SpaceLoft XL Spaceport America Tech 116 Nov 20 1140 NASA 36.296UG Black Brant IX White Sands UV Astron 277 Nov 27 0350 NASA 36.261UG Black Brant IX White Sands UV Astron 280? Dec 14 Kavoshgar Pazhuhesh Shahab-1 Semnan Bio 120 .-------------------------------------------------------------------------. | Jonathan McDowell | | | Somerville MA 02143 | inter : planet4589 at gmail | | USA | twitter: @planet4589 | | | | JSR: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html | | Back issues: http://www.planet4589.org/space/jsr/back | | Subscribe/unsub: http://www.planet4589.org/mailman/listinfo/jsr | '-------------------------------------------------------------------------'