Phobos-Grunt reentry expected this weekend
Posted: Fri, Jan 13, 2012, 8:08 AM ET (1308 GMT)
Russian officials and outside experts now believe the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, trapped in a decaying Earth orbit since November, will reenter by Monday. The latest report from the US Strategic Command predicts a reentry between 9:39 pm EST Saturday (0239 GMT Sunday) and 2:39 am EST (0739 GMT) Monday. With a such a range of times, an exact reentry location cannot be predicted, although the Russian space agency Roscosmos said it now expected the spacecraft to reenter over the south Atlantic Ocean. About 20 to 30 pieces of the spacecraft, weighing up to 200 kilograms, are expected to survive reentry and reach the surface, while its hydrazine fuel will burn up in the upper atmosphere. The spacecraft, designed to go to the Martian moon of Phobos and return samples of its surface to Earth, failed to escape Earth orbit after its launch in November.
Russian officials and outside experts now believe the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, trapped in a decaying Earth orbit since November, will reenter by Monday. The latest report from the US Strategic Command predicts a reentry between 9:39 pm EST Saturday (0239 GMT Sunday) and 2:39 am EST (0739 GMT) Monday. With a such a range of times, an exact reentry location cannot be predicted, although the Russian space agency Roscosmos said it now expected the spacecraft to reenter over the south Atlantic Ocean. About 20 to 30 pieces of the spacecraft, weighing up to 200 kilograms, are expected to survive reentry and reach the surface, while its hydrazine fuel will burn up in the upper atmosphere. The spacecraft, designed to go to the Martian moon of Phobos and return samples of its surface to Earth, failed to escape Earth orbit after its launch in November.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Starship explodes during preparations for static-fire test
Posted: Sun, Jun 22 6:52 AM ET (1052 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, July 1
Move over Starlink, here comes Kuiper
Gulf News — 4:58 am ET (0858 GMT) USSF Seeks Industry Ideas For Space-Based Interceptors
Aviation Week — 4:57 am ET (0857 GMT) Don’t forget about Iran’s space program
POLITICO — 4:54 am ET (0854 GMT) EU Space Act is ‘orbital equivalent of GDPR’, says lawyer
Luxembourg Times — 4:53 am ET (0853 GMT) Poland’s second ever astronaut is safe in space
Euro Weekly News — 4:49 am ET (0849 GMT) |
