Mars probe hovered in orbit
As it became known on the night of November 9, the Russian interplanetary spacecraft Phobos-Grunt was put into orbit, where it hovered without starting its flight to Mars. For the space industry of our country, this flight was a long-awaited and very significant event, because Russia has not launched such devices since the 90-s. Despite all the attempts of Roscosmos specialists to determine the cause of the failure of the main engine of the device, they cannot resolve the problem.
The cause of a malfunction in the apparatus can be either a software error or failure of the sensors responsible for the spatial orientation of the probe. If it is a matter of software, then the situation is reparable, if the cause of the breakdown lies in problems with orientation, then the flight of the vehicle will end very soon with a fall to Earth, before it begins.
Recall that in the past, at least two probes sent to Mars did not reach the planet due to the loss of spatial orientation, and several other devices lost control due to software malfunctions. However in stories cosmonautics was a lot of successful flights, accompanied by problems associated with spatial orientation. For example, not so long ago, the Japanese Hayabus apparatus returned to Earth and not only returned, but also took with it samples of soil from an asteroid. The Japanese probe repeatedly lost radio contact with the Earth, it repeatedly had problems with engines, sometimes it began to tumble at random, but Japanese specialists coped with all abnormal situations successfully.
However, according to experts, the chances of the Russian Martian probe is not too much. For example, the major general of the reserve, the former chief specialist of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on space, Vladimir Uvarov, is sure that Phobos-Grunt is already lost. At the same time, arguing about the reasons for the failure of the launch of the probe, this expert says that the flaw in the device was laid a long time ago, most likely under the old leadership of Roskosmos.
Pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of Russia Yuri Baturin is also not optimistic in assessing the prospects for Phobos-Grunt. The astronaut regrets the failure of the expedition. At the same time, the Hero of Russia is sure that there is nothing surprising in this situation. He argues that the project was prepared carelessly and hastily, whereas astronautics requires a leisurely approach, carrying out all the necessary flight design tests. Baturin sees the main reason for the failure in the fact that our country is traditionally inconsistent and too hastily in matters of astronautics.
However, it should be noted that such a rush not only brought our astronautics to trouble and even tragedy, but allowed our country to launch the first artificial satellite and the first person into space, always leading the domestic space industry to new achievements. Therefore, we will not dramatize the situation and judge our space specialists too harshly - they continue to be the best in the world, strengthening the status of Russia as the space power No. XXUMX in the world.
What do we lose with the device? In the event of the final loss of the apparatus, Roskosmos will receive compensation for it in the amount of 1,2 billion rubles. That is the figure stipulated in the agreement between the department and the insurers. The head of Roscosmos claims that this is the real value of the probe itself.
Lev Green, Director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences: “1,2 billion rubles is not so expensive for such projects. Projects of this class at NASA or at the European Space Agency cost approximately 400 million euros. ”
At the same time, the design of the device cost the department several times more expensive - 5 billion rubles, but these costs, at least, will not be completely useless, because the design documentation for the project has not flown into orbit, and with a certain desire you can build a similar device again, taking into account the shortcomings or errors that led to the failure of the probe.
So, "Phobos-Grunt", most likely, will fall to the Earth. Should earthlings fear its debris?
The fact is that rumors spread around the world that the device was filled with radioactive fuel. This information is completely untrue. The probe is not equipped with radioisotope generators using plutonium as an energy source. Therefore, Roscosmos experts assure that earthlings can be absolutely calm. The uncontrollable device does not pose any risk for earthlings. And a certain amount of radioactive cobalt contained in the structural elements will not affect the background radiation at the site of the apparatus’s fall, which may not take place at all, since most likely the majority of the apparatus, together with its toxic fuel, will burn without even reaching the dense layers of the atmosphere. .
Information