ESA to proceed with MARSIS deployment
Posted: Wed, Jun 8, 2005, 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT)
The European Space Agency announced Tuesday that it plans to go ahead later this month with the deployment of a second 20-meter radar boom on its Mars Express spacecraft, confident that problems experienced last month have been resolved. The boom will be extended between June 13 and 21, officials said, under a deployment scenario altered slightly than the one used for the first boom last month. During the first boom's deployment one of the hinges failed to lock into place, a problem resolved when the spacecraft was reoriented to allow sunlight to heat the balky hinge. Once the second boom is fully extended and locked, ESA plans to begin commissioning of a radar instrument that will use the booms to search for subterranean water on Mars as well as study the planet's ionosphere. Deployment of the boom was originally planned for a year ago but was delayed because of concerns that the boom could whiplash during deployment and damage the spacecraft.
The European Space Agency announced Tuesday that it plans to go ahead later this month with the deployment of a second 20-meter radar boom on its Mars Express spacecraft, confident that problems experienced last month have been resolved. The boom will be extended between June 13 and 21, officials said, under a deployment scenario altered slightly than the one used for the first boom last month. During the first boom's deployment one of the hinges failed to lock into place, a problem resolved when the spacecraft was reoriented to allow sunlight to heat the balky hinge. Once the second boom is fully extended and locked, ESA plans to begin commissioning of a radar instrument that will use the booms to search for subterranean water on Mars as well as study the planet's ionosphere. Deployment of the boom was originally planned for a year ago but was delayed because of concerns that the boom could whiplash during deployment and damage the spacecraft.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, May 28
Thales Alenia Space Submits LEO Cargo Return Bid
Aviation Week — 1:45 am ET (0545 GMT) EU Satellite Proposal Makes Limited Room for Musk’s Starlink
Bloomberg News — 1:43 am ET (0543 GMT) European companies to get bulk of mobile satellite spectrum in EU tech push
Reuters — 1:42 am ET (0542 GMT) Space Force awards $2.29B deal to SpaceX to accelerate ‘backbone’ SATCOM network
Defensescoop — 1:40 am ET (0540 GMT) Dept. of Air Force ‘still working’ to sort space programs into acquisition portfolios: Ainsworth
Breaking Defense — 1:40 am ET (0540 GMT) |
