Форум Новости Космонавтики

ЦитироватьOctober - LARES & ALMASat 1 & AtmoCube & E-Star & Goliat & OUFTI 1 & PW Sat 1 & UNICubeSat & UWE & XaTcobeo - Vega (qualification flight)(VV1) - TBD

The CubeSats for the VEGA Maiden Flight - P. Galeone, ESA Education Office, The Netherlands (http://www.iafastro.com/docs/2010/iac/nanosat/11_Galeone.pdf)

(http://i063.radikal.ru/1012/d6/32f726fcee97.jpg)
(http://s005.radikal.ru/i211/1012/1b/5c6feb35be0c.jpg)
(http://s009.radikal.ru/i308/1012/38/194c8294b572.jpg)

http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

ЦитироватьNET DEC 2011   Vega ELV First Flight   

http://forum.spacealliance.ro/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=201

ЦитироватьThe first Romanian satellite, Goliat, to be launched in 2011[/size]

The European Space Agency ESA, representing the interests of the 18 members, the ArianeSpace company, ELV SpA (European Launch Vehicle) and Evry France have signed recently the VERTA document- Vega Research and Technology Accompaniment Program which establishes the mass production for the components of the new launcher, covering in the first phase 5 new missions apart the test flight (on the sponsored list we can find the European satellites ADM Aeolus, Lisa Pathfinder, the Swarm constellation and IEV-Intermediate Experimental Vehicle).
With this, the Vega project moves from the designing and development phase to the exploitation phase.

This huge operation called Vega involves directly 7 European countries (Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Swiss and Sweden) prime contractor being the Italian company ELV SpA where the Italian Space Agency ASI holds 30% of the shares and the rest is the property of Avio SpA.
The group will be represented by ArianeSpace who will offer on the commercial market the rocket's new launching services and it will take care of all the operational aspects.

The first flight approaches fast, the first stage P 80 of the rocket has been prepared and waits fully loaded at the French Guyana space center, while the other two stages (Zefiro 23 and Zefiro 9) and the rest of the avionics payload have been assembled in Italy and wait to be transported in Kourou.
Unfortunately, the testing agenda proved to be again unrealistic because the modernization and construction operations of the infrastructure in Kourou, have been slowly than expected.
The engineers currently work on several fronts (the usual preparation of the Ariane5 flights are going normally and supplementary are made efforts to bring into operations the newcomers Vega and Soyuz).
Soyuz, which has a proven technology will enter the operation directly and will have priority being able to bring fast income to the company.
The ArianeSpace director said that probably the Soyuz will have the first flight at the beginning of 2011, followed in an interval of couple of months (mid 2011) by the first Vega flight.

Vega intends to be positioned in the niche of the small launchers bellow the Ariane5 (the big class ArianeSpace launcher) and the newcomer –the modernized Soyuz which will operate in the medium sector.
ArianeSpace did not have a launcher in this niche, but the estimations speak about at least two Vega launches per year.

The rocket, with a weight of 137 tones, 30 m in length and a diameter of 3m, has four stages: a P 80 engine using solid fuel for the first stage-with a 3040kN force of traction and 107 s burning time, a Zefiro 23 engine powered by solid fuel for the second stage- with a force of 1200 kN and a burning time of 71 s, again a solid fuel engine type Zefiro 9-with a force of 213 kN and a burning time of 117s and finally a fourth stage powered by liquid fuel engine AVUM (Attitude and Vernier Upper Module) with a force of 2.45 kN and a burning time of 315 s.
The launcher is able to put in a circular, 700km height orbit, a satellite weighting up to 1500 kg which is usually the characteristic of the scientific Earth observation satellites.

The Vega rocket will use the spaceport ELA-1 from French Guyana – the same place used before by the Ariane 3 and Ariane 1 rockets. The hangar needed a complete refurbishment starting from the buildings of the complex and continuing with the auxiliary electrical, protection or control systems and last but not least the transport mechanisms. More, there will be a new mobile platform transporting the rocket, with a height of 50 m and a speed of 5m/minute, being able to cover the distance of 80 m which separates the operational position and the parking place.
The launch campaign for a standard flight has been increased from the current 2-3 weeks to 42 days, just to ensure the proper preparation, taking into account that the new rocket could serve in the future up to 4 flights per year.

Unfortunately neither the other rocket which will take part of the European launching system- the Soyuz 2 is not in a better condition, this program having also big delays.
Because it was impossible for ArianeSpace to serve the first flight in December 2010 and in order to avoid the loss of a first client- the British company Avanti Communications who wanted to launch their Hylas 1 satellite using the services in French Guyana, the company has decided to move the spacecraft onboard its Ariane 5 flight from November 2010 as the rocket has a dual launch capacity, used successfully many times before.
This being said, the inaugural Soyuz 2 flight from Kourou, will be probably marked by a political decision, ESA or CNES giving as alternatives one of their Galileo or Pleiades satellites.
Compared with the original version launched from Baikonur or Plesetsk, Soyuz 2-1a has increased the transport capacity from 1.7 tones to 2.7 tones (for a geostationary orbit).
This happens not only due to the technical modifications but also because a flight from Kourou is closer to the Equator, the Earth rotation bringing a supplementary delta to the velocity of the launcher.
It is also foreseen a Soyuz 2-1b version which will put in place an update of the flight control system, an increase of the third stage traction and another fairing system with an increased volume. With all these innovations, this Soyuz version will be able to lift 3.6 tones into a geostationary orbit.

The ArianeSpace company has reported for the financial year 2009, an income of 1.046 billions euro, increased with 9.4% compared with 2008, an income where the major contribution came from the 7 Ariane 5 flights operated in 2009 versus the 6 ones from 2008.
The previsions for the future are even better as in February 2009 a new contract of 4 billions euro has been signed, including a number of 35 new Ariane 5 units to be operated during the next years, without counting here the contribution that the newcomers Vega and Soyuz will bring soon.

The commercial market has been dominated in the last period by the variations of the launching cost especially because of the dumping prices used by the SeaLaunch operator, but as with the bankruptcy of this one, the analysts are expecting a come back of the launching prices to some realistic values, and a better economical perspective for the two major actors remained on this stage the ArianeSpace and ILS-International Launch Services.

Romania, which is at his first space adventure with the Goliat satellite, will have to wait a bit more until the road to space will open. Delayed again, the Romanian team coordinated by the Romanian Space Agency ROSA will have to see, like the other participants, how the Vega agenda will continue and when the inaugural flight will actually take place.
The Goliat project which aims to lift the first Romanian satellite in orbit, has been started in 2005 by ROSA, having an initial budget of approximately 400.000 euro.
It is a nanosatellite based on the American Cubesat standard, cube-shaped 10x10x10 cm and weighting 1 kg. There are three scientific experiments onboard: SAMIS which aims to measure the meteorites flux, Dose-N which should measure the cosmic radiation dose on an Earth orbit and probably the most valuable, the acquisition of images from a 3Mpixels and 21x28 m ground resolution camera installed on the satellite.

The latest information speak about an elliptical orbit 350x750 km with an inclination of 71 degrees which would be a major change compared with the initial requirements of the designing team – a circular polar orbit with 500 km altitude.
In more concrete terms it will mean the project will only cover the medium latitude sites and will never reach the poles. Most of the scientific missions are launched in polar orbits because they need to have a complete set of Earth data and this is the only type of orbit which can ensure a full coverage (also for the poles).
The Romanian project and some other 8 satellites from the same category are given the chance to fly in the inaugural launch of the European Vega rocket (most of these satellites coming from emergent countries which, as Romania, have started their national space programs and will soon join the European Space Agency):

-SwissCube (

http://www.aviogroup.com/en/media_room/press_release/2011/the_launch_of_vega_is_drawing_near

ЦитироватьThe launch of Vega is drawing near[/size]
   2011/09/28

The European satellite launcher built in Italy has left Avio's industrial plant for the European Space Centre in French Guyana

Rivalta di Torino (TO), 28 September 2011 – The transport operations began for the Vega satellite launcher. The stages of the launch vehicle were transferred from Avio's Colleferro industrial plant (Rome) to the port of Livorno to be taken on board a ship specially fitted out by Arianespace. In the next few weeks, the launcher will reach the European Space Centre in Kourou, where the launch campaign will begin prior to the maiden flight foreseen between December 2011 and January 2012.

The transfer of Vega to French Guyana is the last step in a design and development journey started out at the end of the 1990s, and concluded positively by obtaining the qualification of the subsystems by the European Space Agency (ESA), which brought about the production of a launcher that has set new standards in the aerospace industry, thanks to the use of innovative and proprietary technologies. For instance, the first-stage motor is the largest monolith in the world constructed in carbon fibre: an important containment in weight is associated to the exceptional structural quality.

In the last few months, all the tests have been carried out necessary for verifying the functionality of the launch base in Kourou and, currently, the last tests are in progress preceding the qualification flight, which will serve to test the functionality and reliability of the launcher in view of the start-up of commercial activities.

"Through Vega, our Country will enter the very limited club of Nations able to access space with their own technologies. During the last 5 years, Avio has developed a strongly innovative next-generation launcher in Italy; the first entirely made of carbon fibre, with advanced digital controls and great flexibility of configuration in order to put into orbit satellites of different dimensions and functionalities," said Francesco Caio, Avio Chief Executive Officer. "The departure of the launch vehicle towards the Kourou base, marks the end of the development phase and opens up another that will be seen involved together with both the Italian and European Space Agencies in the setting-up of the launcher with the qualification flight. We must join the satisfaction in achieving the technological goals with the emotions and pride of being part of such a relevant programme at international level. A result obtained thanks to the competences of all the Avio team in Colleferro," said Mr. Caio.

"The transfer of the last components of the first Vega launcher represents an important step for Italy. We have paved the way towards completing this programme, for which our Country, through the Italian Space Agency, carries out a leading role. From now on, all the elements to assemble the Vega will be present at the Kourou launch base. Therefore, the launch campaign will enter the final phase towards putting the launcher into orbit, whose date will be announced in mid-October by the ESA, following final tests and verifications. My own particular appreciation of this last step goes to all those who have contributed, and will continue to contribute, with their own commitment and work in maintaining Italian excellence in the field of space that, even more today, will allow Europe to have a new future in access to space," said Enrico Saggese, Chairman of the Italian Space Agency.


The programme and the role of Italy

Vega is the new European launcher developed within the area of the ESA, in order to transfer satellites up to 1,500 kg into polar orbit (700 km), typically for institutional and scientific use such as Earth observation and monitoring of the environment.

Avio has a fundamental role in this programme, started up through studies by its engineers at the Colleferro industrial plant (Rome), in the 1990s. Avio, through the ELV Company, set up in 2000 with the Italian Space Agency (70% Avio, 30% ASI) precisely for managing this programme, is prime contractor of the launcher and coordinates 40 companies in 12 countries. Avio, already European leader in solid-propellant space propulsion, has been acknowledged by Europe in its role as systems integrator.

Therefore, Italy has become one of the six countries in the world able to produce a complete launcher: 65% of the Vega is produced in Italy at the Avio Group's industrial facilities in Colleferro.

Vega is a launch vehicle for satellites of small dimensions, which completes the family of European launchers: it will partner Ariane 5, dedicated to satellites up to 10 tonnes, and Soyuz, which covers satellites of intermediate size. All the Europe launch vehicles will be launched from the ESA space centre in Kourou, French Guyana.

The commercial strengths of Vega are its flexibility in the missions and contained costs that make access to space possible also to those who previously were not able to meet these costs: universities, research centres and insurance companies.

ABOUT AVIO
Avio is an international group and a leader in the aerospace industry, based in Turin (Italy). Founded in 1908, it is present on four continents with sales offices and 12 industrial production sites. It has approximately 5,200 employees, of which approximately 4,400 are based in Italy. Company revenues in 2010 were approximately Euro 1.75 billion. The Group operates in following business areas: Aeronautical; Space; MRO and Services; Aeroderivative Gas Turbines for Marine and Industrial use; Control & Automation Systems and Electrical Systems. Avio is active in the field of technological research and development through a network of laboratories within Italian university campuses and collaborations with many Italian and international universities and research centres.[/size]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-soyuz-vega/2011/10-05-2011-vega-update.asp

ЦитироватьThe first Vega for launch is heading to the Spaceport in French Guiana[/size]

October 5, 2011

The no. 1 Vega to operate from French Guiana is ready for its initial voyage, which will take the lightweight launcher from Europe to South America by sea – positioning the vehicle for an inaugural flight next January at the Spaceport.

 Stocked aboard the MN Colibri roll-on/roll-off ship, the Vega is scheduled to depart Rotterdam in the Netherlands tomorrow on a transatlantic crossing to French Guiana for unloading and transfer to the Spaceport.   This will clear the way for a Flight Readiness Review on October 13-14, enabling the mission's three-month launch campaign to begin in November.

 Vega's liftoff next January – with a multi-spacecraft payload composed of the LARES satellite and nine small cubesats from European universities – will serve as the vehicle's qualification flight, opening a series of missions to demonstrate the launch system's flexibility.

 When it joins Arianespace's family of launchers, Vega will be capable of lofting payload masses ranging from 300 kg. to 2,500 kg. depending on the type of orbit and altitude required by customers. The baseline mission is for a payload lift performance of 1,500 kg. to a 700 km. polar orbit.

 For the upcoming ocean voyage, the MN Colibri is carrying Vega's Zefiro-23 and Zefiro-9 solid rocket motors for its second and third stages, along with the launcher's bi-propellant liquid AVUM upper stage – all of which were delivered from Avio's facility in Colleferro, Italy, where they were produced.

 These components were brought to the MN Colibri at the Port of Livorno in Italy, after which the vessel sailed to Rotterdam where the cargo was to be increased with the Vega's Swiss-built payload fairing, the Dutch-produced interstage structure that links the launcher's first two stages, as well as the LARES laser relativity satellite from Italy's ASI space agency.

 The MN Colibri is one of two sea-going vessels used by Arianespace in transporting launcher components between their European production locations to South America, and the upcoming ocean crossing repeats a process regularly employed in the shipment of heavy-lift Ariane 5s, as well as the medium-lift Soyuz.

After the Vega elements arrive in French Guiana, they will be integrated with the launcher's P80 solid propellant first stage, which currently is undergoing final preparations in the Spaceport's Booster Integration Building.

(http://www.arianespace.com/images/news-soyuz-vega/10-4-2011-vega-pano.jpg)
The MN Colibri is shown at Italy's Port of Livorno, where it was loaded with the Vega's second and third stage solid rocket motors, along with the launcher's bi-propellant liquid upper stage.[/size]

January - LARES & ALMASat 1 & AtmoCube & E-Star & Goliat & OUFTI 1 & PW Sat 1 & UNICubeSat & UWE & XaTcobeo - Vega (qualification flight)(VV01) - TBD

http://www.elv.it/en/media-room/news/

ЦитироватьOctober 17th, 2011
Flight Readiness Review authorizes launch campaign[/size]

On October 13th and 14th, at ESA ESRIN premises, the first Phase of the Vega launcher Flight Readiness Review has been held. The Project Team (ELV, Vitrociset) has presented to the Board formed by representatives from ESA (JJ Dordain, A. Fabrizi), CNES (Mme I. Rongier), ASI (E. Saggese) and Arianespace (JY Le Gall) the status of Vega Program, in order to obtain the formal authorization to begin the Integration and Launch Campaign.

The presentation has described:

    the mission objectives
    the qualification status for the LARES mission, in particular addressing the LARES TM necessary to complete the qualification of VEGA launch system
    the launcher configuration
    the main conclusions and status of actions coming from previous reviews

At the end of the two days meeting the Review Board, considered the program progress status, has authorized the beginning of the launcher integration campaign, established at November 7th when the first stage A1A (P80 motor) will be transferred from BIP (Batiment Integration Propulseur) to Mobile Gantry.[/size]

ЦитироватьПервый пуск не ранее 26 января 2012 года, согласно http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/launches.php

Вот бы у нас в стране тоже выделяли деньги и разрешали пускать аппараты для проверки новых разработок... просто тестовые.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2011/861.asp

ЦитироватьVega arrives at French Guiana in preparation for its January 26 inaugural launch[/size]

(http://www.arianespace.com/images/missionup-dates/2011/861-1-lrg.jpg)
(http://www.arianespace.com/images/missionup-dates/2011/861-2.jpg)
One of Vega's two payload fairing half-shells is unloaded in its shipping container from the MN Colibri docked at Kourou's Pariacabo Port (photo at left), for transfer to the nearby Spaceport. Also coming off the sea-going vessel is the interstage skirt that connects the Vega's P80 first stage with its narrower Zefiro 23 second stage (photo at right).

October 25, 2011 – Vega Flight VV01

The first lightweight Vega was delivered to the Spaceport today, with this latest member of Arianespace's expanded launcher family arriving only days after the service entry of its other new vehicle – the medium-lift Soyuz.

Vega came to French Guiana aboard the MN Colibri roll-on/roll-off ship, which docked yesterday at Kourou's Pariacabo Port after a two-week Atlantic crossing from Europe, and was unloaded this morning for the launcher's transfer by road to the Spaceport.

The four-stage Vega's first flight has been set for next January 26, carrying LARES (LAser RElativity Satellite) and nine cubesat educational payloads of varying sizes.

This inaugural launch will be a qualification mission performed under responsibility of the European Space Agency, since the vehicle represents a totally new configuration.  As its future operator, Arianespace is heavily involved in the launch – including having one of its team members assigned the role as Launch Site Operations Manager.

Vega will lift off from the Spaceport's ZLV launch site, which originally was used for the Ariane 1 and Ariane 3 vehicles.

Planning calls for Vega's first mission campaign to begin on November 7 with rollout of its P80 first stage to the launch pad, followed during the subsequent weeks by stacking of the Zefiro 23 second stage and Zefiro 9 third stage – all of which are loaded with solid-propellant.

Claude-Henri Berna, the Arianespace Vega program director in French Guiana, said a progress review will be held on December 7 to authorize a continuation of the final integration process – allowing the bi-propellant Attitude and Vernier Upper Module (AVUM) to be mated atop the launcher, and final operations to begin with the mission's multi-spacecraft payload.

Vega is produced by Italian prime contractor ELV, and will join Arianespace's launcher family as the lightweight vehicle.  It will be operated from French Guiana along with the medium-lift Soyuz and heavyweight Ariane 5, providing Arianespace with a complete vehicle inventory capable of orbiting the full range of payloads – from small scientific and institutional satellites to the largest telecommunications relay platforms and resupply spacecraft for the International Space Station.

Using Arianespace's numbering system, the maiden Vega flight is designated VV01, with the first "V" representing the French word for flight ("vol"), and the second letter referring to Vega.[/size]

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2011/859.asp

ЦитироватьThe Arianespace launcher family comes together in French Guiana[/size]

Joining Ariane 5 at the Spaceport is the no. 1 Vega, which will soon start its build-up on the Spaceport's ZLV launch pad for a scheduled January 26 liftoff.  This will be a qualification flight performed under responsibility of the European Space Agency prior to Arianespace's startup of mission operations with the four-stage vehicle.  The maiden flight, known as VV01 in Arianespace's launcher family numbering, will carry the 400-kg. LARES (LAser RElativity Satellite) along with a group of smaller cubesat educational payloads in varying sizes.

(http://www.arianespace.com/images/missionup-dates/2011/859-1-lg.jpg)
Shipping containers with components for the first Vega are driven to a storage area on the Spaceport after being unloaded from the MN Colibri.[/size]

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMC2OTWLUG_index_0.html

ЦитироватьFirst Vega launch campaign aims for January liftoff[/size]
 
11 November 2011
The first Vega launch campaign began on Monday at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana with the installation of the first stage on the pad. Europe's new small launcher is on track for its maiden flight at the end of January.
 
The hundred-tonne solid-propellant first stage, the P80, was moved from the Booster Integration Building to the pad on 7 November using the 'Fardier' heavyweight transporter.

As with the transfer of Ariane 5's boosters, safety measures minimised the number of operators on site and evacuated nearby buildings.  
 
With the P80 installed inside the mobile gantry, all ground installations are now being configured for the booster's final acceptance, including the Thrust Vector Control system that swivels the large nozzle for steering.
 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21101.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/_SCO3424.jpg)   
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21102.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/_SCO3609.jpg)
Transfer of Vega's P80 first stage to launch pad

In the coming weeks, the two solid-propellant second and third stages, the Zefiro-23 and Zefiro-9, will be transferred from the Vega Booster Storage and Preparation Building and added to the vehicle.

Before the end of the year, after the Flight Readiness Review, the AVUM – Attitude & Vernier Upper Module – fourth stage, will be integrated.
 
Final preparations for launch
 
In parallel to the launcher activities, the satellites are being prepared at the spaceport.

By the end of the year the LARES laser relativity satellite from Italy's ASI space agency together with at least six small CubeSats and ALMASat-1 from European universities will be ready and enclosed in the fairing.
 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21103.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/_SCO3633.jpg)   
LARES satellite
   
The campaign will continue in January with the integration of the 'upper composite' – the fairing and payload – followed by final check-out of the fully integrated launcher and the countdown rehearsal.

This Vega qualification flight will pave the way for the next five missions that will demonstrate the system's flexibility as part of the VERTA – Vega Research and Technology Accompaniment – programme.
 
A flexible system
 
Vega is designed to cope with a wide range of missions and payload configurations in order to respond to different market opportunities with greater flexibility.

In particular, it offers configurations able to handle payloads ranging from a single satellite up to one main satellite plus six microsatellites.

Vega is compatible with payload masses ranging from 300 kg to 2500 kg, depending on the type and altitude of the orbit required by the customers. The benchmark is for 1500 kg into a 700 km-altitude polar orbit.

Altogether, seven ESA Member States (Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden) are contributing to the programme.

ELV SpA is the launch vehicle industrial prime contractor (70% of which is owned by AvioSpA and 30% by the Italian space agency, ASI) and Vitrociset is the ground segment prime contractor.[/size]

ЦитироватьBy the end of the year the LARES laser relativity satellite from Italy's ASI space agency together with at least six small CubeSats and ALMASat-1 from European universities will be ready and enclosed in the fairing.

Походу количество кубсатов уменьшилось до шести.

http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/lares.htm

ЦитироватьLARES[/size]

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21122.jpg)
LARES [ASI]

LARES (Laser Relativity Satellite) is a passive satellite with laser mirrors for the study of the Earth gravitational field and general relativity measurements (Lense-Thirring effect).

LARES is basically a solid sphere made of Tungsten with a diameter of 376 mm and a mass of 400 kg. The surface of the sphere is covered by 92 Corner Cube Reflectors (CCR). To achieve its scientific objectives, LARES will be injected into a circular orbit at 1200 km altitude with an inclination of 71°.

As LARES orbits the Earth, laser beams are emitted from a number of ground stations around the Earth, the International Laser Ranging Service, and reflected by the CCRs on LARES to the ground stations. The time delay between emission and arrival of the laser beam provides a measure of the round-trip distance to LARES, allowing a highly accurate orbit determination. Correcting for a number of effects, most importantly the deviation of the Earth gravitational field from an ideal sphere, yields the frame-dragging effect.

The main scientific objectives of the LARES mission are:
High precision tests of Einstein's theory of general relativity, in particular:
A measurement of the Lense-Thirring effect due to the Earth's angular momentum and a high precision test of the Earth's gravitomagnetic field. The Lense-Thirring effect is a tiny shift of the orbit of a test particle. Gravitomagnetic field and Lense-Thirring effect are theoretical predictions of Einstein's theory of general relativity.
An improved, high precision, test of the inverse square law for very weak-field gravity and test of the equivalence principle.
A measurement of the general relativistic perigee precession of LARES and a high precision measurement of the corresponding combination of the PPN (Parametrized-Post-Newtonian) parameters beta and gamma. The PPN parameters beta and gamma test Einstein's theory of gravitation versus other metric theories of gravitation.
Other tests of general relativity and gravitation.
Measurements and improved determinations in geodesy and geodynamics.

On February 7, the ASI board approved funding for the LARES mission, that will be launched with Vega's maiden flight.Nation:   Italy
Type / Application:   Basic research, Geodesy
Operator:   ASI
Contractors:   Carlo Gavazzi Space SpA
Equipment:   92 cube corner reflectors
Configuration:   37,6 cm sphere
Propulsion:   None
Power:   None
Mass:   ~ 400 kg
Orbit:   1200 km

Кубосаты:

AtmoCube
http://www2.units.it/atmocube/

E-ST@R
http://areeweb.polito.it/ricerca/E-STAR/

GOLIAT
http://events.eoportal.org/presentations/12486/10003770.html

Masat-1
http://cubesat.bme.hu/masat-1/?lang=en

PW-Sat 1
http://www.pe0sat.vgnet.nl/satellite/cube-nano-picosats/pw-sat/

Robusta
http://www.ies.univ-montp2.fr/robusta/satellite/?lang=en

UNICubeSat
http://events.eoportal.org/get_announce.php?an_id=10002455

XaTcobeo
http://www.xatcobeo.com/cms/index.php

http://www.southgatearc.org/news/september2011/baikonur_launch_for_uwe3.htm

ЦитироватьBaikonur launch for UWE-3[/size]

This CubeSat project was planned as backup payload for the Vega maiden flight but is now expected to be launched from Baikonur in Q4 2012.

UWE-3 will be an experimental CubeSat which will contribute to the development of an active Attitude Determination and Control System for CubeSats, by testing such a subsystem and serving as a valuable source of experimental data.

In addition a new, advanced On Board Data Handling and a new Communication subsystem will also be tested on the UWE-3.
 It is proposed to have FSK telemetry and a CW beacon.

 The IARU satellite frequency coordination panel has co-ordinated a downlink frequency of 437.385 MHz.

UWE-3 in Google English
http://tinyurl.com/CubeSatUWE-3

IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel pages hosted by AMSAT-UK http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/[/size]

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Education/SEM3L0WWVUG_0.html

ЦитироватьThe ESA Cubs have been developed by more than 250 university students from six different countries over the last 4 years. Each CubeSat carries its own scientific or technology demonstration payload. The six CubeSats to be launched on Vega in late January 2012 comprise:

    Xatcobeo (a collaboration of the University of Vigo and INTA, Spain): a mission to demonstrate software-defined radio and solar panel deployment;

    Robusta (University of Montpellier 2, France): a mission to test and evaluate radiation effects (low dose rate) on bipolar transistor electronic components;

    e-st@r (Politecnico di Torino, Italy): demonstration of an active 3-axis Attitude Determination and Control system including an inertial measurement unit;

    Goliat (University of Bucharest, Romania): imaging of the Earth surface using a digital camera and in-situ measurement of radiation dose and micrometeoroid flux;

    PW-Sat (Warsaw University of Technology, Poland): a mission to test a deployable atmospheric drag augmentation device for de-orbiting CubeSats;

    MaSat-1 (Budapest University of Technology and Economics): a mission to demonstrate various spacecraft avionics, including a power conditioning system, transceiver and on-board data handling.

A seventh CubeSat is planned to be delivered, installed in a third P-POD and tested during the next two weeks.
 
 
The ESA Cubs will be deployed from their different deployment systems mounted on the support structure of the main payload, LARES, into an orbit of 300 x 1450 km at an inclination of 69.5 degrees. They will have a natural orbital lifetime of up to 4 years, depending on their rate of orbital decay due to atmospheric drag.[/size]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

ЦитироватьJan. 26    Vega  •  LARES
Launch window: 1300-1500 GMT (8:00-10:00 a.m. EST)
Launch site: ELA-1, Kourou, French Guiana

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/vega/vv01/111207lares/

ЦитироватьPrepping satellite to test Albert Einstein[/size]

A small sphere-shaped satellite covered with laser retroreflectors to test part of Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity is being readied for its shot into space aboard the qualification flight of Europe's new Vega light launcher.

Named LARES, the Italian LAser Relativity Satellite is a solid tungsten sphere weighing almost 860 pounds (390 kg) with 92 mounted retroreflectors. The Vega rocket will launch the payload from Kourou, French Guiana in January, deploying the craft into an Earth orbit where it will fly for over 25,000 years.

Earth-based stations will bounce lasers off the satellite and precisely measure the time it takes the beams to travel between the ground and spacecraft as it passes overhead in an experiment with the Lense-Thirring effect. That part of Einstein's theories describes the distortion of space-time caused by the rotation of a body with mass -- the Earth.

Similar-looking spacecraft -- LAGEOS 1 and LAGEOS 2 -- have been launched in American-Italian collaborations in 1976 and 1992 aboard a Delta rocket and the space shuttle Columbia to track the movement of Earth's tectonic plates. A scientific team based at the Sapienza University of Rome created the LARES mission.

This photo gallery shows LARES being installed aboard its deployer system in the processing facility. Once the other CubeSat co-passengers are attached, the payload package will be encapsulated in the rocket's two-piece nose cone in preparation for attachment atop the Vega rocket next month. Liftoff is targeted for the end of January.

The Vega rocket, with its three solid-propellant stages and a restartable liquid-fuel fourth stage, has been developed by Europe as a small-satellite booster that will operate alongside the giant Ariane 5 and the mid-class Soyuz from the Kourou spaceport on the northeastern coast of South America.

Commercial operator Arianespace foresees one-to-two Vega flights per year.

Development of the rocket cost $1 billion (786 million euros) and the research program covering five demonstrative launches is valued at about $535 million (400 million euros).

European Space Agency Member States Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden are contributors to Vega.

Photo credit: European Space Agency[/size]

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21573.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21574.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21575.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21576.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21577.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21578.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21579.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21580.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21581.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21582.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21583.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21584.jpg)

http://www.esa.int/esa-mmg/mmg.pl?b=b&type=I&single=y&start=8

ЦитироватьVega's thirty-tonne solid-propellant second stage, the Zefiro-23, was transferred from the Vega Booster Storage and Preparation Building to the pad on 2 December at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21752.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/Z23assembly0016.JPG)

http://www.esa.int/esa-mmg/mmg.pl?idf=SEMOAT7XZVG&type=I

ЦитироватьVega preparations are moving full speed ahead at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, with the mating of the Zefiro-9 solid-propellant third stage with the vehicle.

Vega's maiden flight is planned for the end of January 2012.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21753.jpg)

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2011/vs02-success.asp

ЦитироватьLooking ahead to Arianespace's 2012 mission activity, the initial Vega to be launched from French Guiana is taking shape at the Spaceport, with its solid propellant first, second and third stages now stacked on the launch pad.  In the next several days, Vega's AVUM liquid-propellant upper stage will be moved to the pad and installed atop the launcher.  Integration of the "upper composite," consisting of the launcher's payload and protective fairing, is planned for January, followed by final verifications of the fully integrated launcher and the countdown rehearsal.

This introductory Vega mission – designated VV01 – is anticipated in the January-February timeframe, and will carry Italy's LARES laser relativity satellite, along with the ALMASat-1 spacecraft from European universities and several small cubesat platforms.

(http://www.arianespace.com/images/missionup-dates/2011/vs02-success_3-lg.jpg)

Vega's solid-propellant third stage is installed on top of the launcher earlier this month in French Guiana as this new lightweight vehicle is readied for its maiden flight from the Spaceport in 2012.[/size]

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Education/SEMG1C8XZVG_0.html

ЦитироватьESA's CubeSats ready for flight[/size]
 
16 December 2011
The first students' CubeSats to be sponsored by ESA's Education Office have passed their Final Acceptance Review and have been declared ready for launch on board the maiden flight of Vega, the new ESA launcher. The launch window for this historic lift-off opens on 26 January and ends in the first week of February 2012.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21754.jpg)
The Italian CubeSat
 
The seven university-built picosatellites, each weighing only 1 kilogram, were integrated with the devices that will carry them during launch – the P-PODs, or Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployers – between late October and mid November. Before they could be cleared for launch, they had to pass a detailed technical examination known as the Final Acceptance Review.
   
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21755.jpg)   
Preparing for the first integration

The review panel was composed of representatives of the ESA Education Office, the VEGA Project, and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), supported by ESA specialists of all relevant spacecraft disciplines.

The formal review process began on 24 November at the agency's Space Technology and Research Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands, and it was successfully concluded on 9 December. Meanwhile, the CubeSats, already installed inside their P-PODs, were delivered to Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at the end of November.
 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21756.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/Vega_Pad_1M_H.jpg)   
Artist's impression of Vega
   
Between 12 and 14 December, the three P-PODs containing the CubeSats were integrated on-board the LARES System, the primary payload of the VEGA Maiden Flight Mission. Later on during the launch campaign, this will be attached to the launch vehicle's upper stage.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21757.jpg)   
University-developed CubeSat

The single-unit CubeSats, whose development represented a highly valuable, if not unique hands-on learning experience for the university students that were involved - were developed by teams from 6 different European countries:

    Xatcobeo (a collaboration of the University of Vigo and INTA, Spain)
    Robusta (University of Montpellier 2, France)
    E-St@r (Politecnico di Torino, Italy)
    Goliat (University of Bucharest, Romania)
    PW-Sat (Warsaw University of Technology, Poland)
    MaSat-1 (Budapest University of Technology & Economics, Hungary)
    UniCubeSat GG (Universit

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMK3RGXTWG_index_0.html

"First launch of Vega
Europe's family of launchers will welcome its smallest member, Vega.
Location: CSG, Europe's Spaceport (French Guiana)
Date: 9 February"

Конкурент Falcon-1 ?

Одна Вега = 3 Флакона

И потом как можно конкурировать с тем, чего уже нет?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16480111

Цитировать9 January 2012 Last updated at 23:58 GMT
Launch date fixed for Esa's Vega rocket[/size]
By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22095.jpg)
Europe has named Thursday 9 February as the day it intends to launch its new Vega rocket for the very first time.

The 30m-tall vehicle has been developed to take payloads up to 1.5 tonnes into a polar orbit, and will fly from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.

The project has been led by Italian industry and is years behind on its original schedule.

But European Space Agency Director General, Jean-Jacques Dordain, said he would not force the pace.

"Today, the target date is 9 February, but it's a target," he told BBC News.

"I shall never say this is the definitive launch date because it is a maiden flight, and with a maiden flight I shall take no risk. There will be no compromise on any question which could still be open on 9 February."

The caution is well advised. Statistics show that some two-thirds of the rockets introduced in the past 20 years have had an unsuccessful first outing.

It is for this reason that the satellites carried on the "qualification" flight have been given a free ride.
Biannual operations

Vega is a four-stage rocket. Its first three segments burn a solid fuel; its fourth and final stage uses liquid propellants, and can be stopped and restarted several times to get a spacecraft into just the right orbit.

Esa expects an operational Vega to be launching about twice a year, carrying mostly small scientific and government satellites.

If the rocket should need to delay from 9 February to deal with technical issues, it will only be given a short window to resolve the problems before being asked to stand down for several weeks.

Vega's big "brother" at Kourou, the Ariane 5 rocket, is booked to launch Europe's third ATV cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS) on 9 March, and this mission will take precedence if there is a conflict.

The frequent comings and goings at the orbiting platform require a carefully co-ordinated traffic schedule, and this will not be disrupted for an unrelated, experimental rocket flight.

"I have to respect my commitments to my International Space Station partners," Mr Dordain explained.

"It's clear that if we are arriving in a situation where the launch of Vega starts to interfere with the date of the launch of ATV 3, I will choose to switch and go for ATV first and Vega next."[/size]

ЦитироватьОдна Вега = 3 Флакона

И потом как можно конкурировать с тем, чего уже нет?

думаете Вега с первого раза взлетит?

А почему бы ей не взлететь?   :wink:
Но гарантию может дать только страховой полис! :roll:

Цитироватьдумаете Вега с первого раза взлетит?

Несомненно. После команды на зажигание для пороховика одна дорога - взлетать :).

9 февраля возможная дата, но лишь при удачном стечении обстоятельств. Если потом задержать на более, чем пару недель еще, то тогда уже после пуска ATV-3, который сдвинуть могут только чрезвычайные обстоятельства теперь.

Если мне не изменяет память, Вега  - итальянский долгострой, который тянется еще с начала 90-х, то есть от намерений до почти старта прошло 20 лет. Причем она собирается примитивно, на стартовом столе. Ей дали старт "Ариана-1".

Надеюсь, что после долгих мытарств она полетит успешно. Это будет первый итальянский старт на Куру.

ЦитироватьЕсли мне не изменяет память, Вега  - итальянский долгострой, который тянется еще с начала 90-х, то есть от намерений до почти старта прошло 20 лет. Причем она собирается примитивно, на стартовом столе. Ей дали старт "Ариана-1".

Надеюсь, что после долгих мытарств она полетит успешно. Это будет первый итальянский старт на Куру.

Вот именно долгострой. Спагетти-космос.

Работают с 98 года.

В начале 90-х я читал в журнале "Земля и Вселенная" о том, что в Италии были недовольны РН "Скаут" с космодрома Сан-Марко, и нужна замена. Тогда же были даны первые поручения о разработке новой РН, первой в Италии. Эти наработки, скопившиеся за 8 лет, легли в основу первой итальянской РН Вега. 20 лет работы. Какая уж там "Ангара"  :)

Она "итальянская" весьма и весьма условно. Основной бюджет - от ESA, участие ASI куда более скромное. И из бюджета проекта от ESA только 60% вернулось в Италию. Откуда. кстати, снова во многом разошлось подрядчикам 2го и 3го уровней по всей Европе и за ее пределы.

Насколько я помню, с этим проектом связана почти детективная история. Италия сначала разрабатывала РН для своего космодрома, что в Кении. Остальной Европе эта самостоятельность не очень нравилась. В результате компромисса итальянцы получили СК "Ариан-1", финансирование ЕКА, маркетинг от Арианспейса. И на этих условиях Вега стала европейской РН. Такая маленькая ракета и такой долгострой.

http://ria.ru/science/20120119/543490387.html

ЦитироватьРакета-носитель "Вега" готова к первому запуску с Куру 9 февраля[/size]
15:26 19/01/2012

МОСКВА, 19 янв - РИА Новости. Новая ракета-носитель легкого класса "Вега" (Vega) успешно прошла комплексные технические проверки и готова к первому запуску с космодрома Куру во Французской Гвиане, который назначен на 9 февраля, сообщило в четверг Европейское космическое агентство (ЕКА).

Ракета-носитель легкого класса "Вега" дополнит тяжелый "Ариан-5" и появившийся в распоряжении ЕКА средний российский носитель "Союз-СТ".

Четырехступенчатая ракета "Вега" предназначена для запуска небольших спутников: она сможет выводить полезную нагрузку массой 1,5 тонны на орбиту высотой 700 километров. Европейская ракета "Ариан-5" выводит на орбиту, в зависимости от высоты, от 10 до 20 тонн, "Союз" - от 3,1 до 4,9 тонны.

Первая ракета, запуск которой предварительно запланирован на 9 февраля, в середине января успешно прошла полную проверку всех четырех ступеней.

"Проверка показала, что все системы работают нормально, и ракета готова к полету", - говорится в сообщении агентства.

"Вега" выведет на орбиту итальянские научные спутники LARES (Laser Relativity Satellite) и ALMASat-1, а также семь микроспутников программы CubeSat, созданных европейскими университетами.[/size]

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Vega/SEM42YMXDXG_0.html

ЦитироватьVega rocket ready for first flight[/size]
 
19 January 2012
Final checkout of Europe's new Vega launcher was completed last Friday, marking another milestone towards its maiden flight from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22214.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/PadVega1.jpg)
 
 The first Vega launch campaign began in November with the installation of the P80 first stage on the launch pad. The two solid-propellant second and third stages were added to the vehicle, followed by the AVUM – Attitude & Vernier Upper Module – liquid-propellant fourth stage.  

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22215.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/Avum_02.JPG)   
   AVUM pressurisation

All four stages have undergone final acceptance, including the testing of the avionics, guidance, telemetry, propulsion, separation pyrotechnics and safety systems.

 These steps culminated on 13 January with Vega's 'synthesis control checks', where all systems were put into launch mode for the vehicle's final acceptance. This included pressurising the AVUM propulsion systems that actuate the thruster valves.
   
The rocket's elements were switched on from the control bench to simulate the launch countdown. The onboard software then took over and simulated the different stages of a flight. The interfaces between the vehicle and the control bench were also tested.

 The test review confirmed that everything ran as expected and that the launcher is ready for flight.
 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22216.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/Avum_01.JPG)    
AVUM   

What's next?
 
 The 'upper composite' – the fairing and payload – will be integrated, followed by final checkout of the fully assembled launcher and the countdown rehearsal.

 The first launch, VV01, is targeted for 9 February. It will carry nine satellites into orbit: the Italian space agency's LARES and ALMASat-1, together with seven CubeSats from European universities.

 This mission aims to qualify the Vega launch system, including the vehicle, its launch infrastructure and operations, from the launch campaign to payload separation and disposal of the upper module.  
 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22217.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/VV01QF1Lares_Elevation2,0.jpg)   
Vehicle VV01   

A flexible system
 
 Vega is designed to cope with a wide range of missions and payload configurations in order to respond to different market opportunities and provide great flexibility.

 In particular, it offers configurations able to handle payloads ranging from a single satellite up to one main satellite plus six microsatellites.

 Vega is compatible with payload masses ranging from 300 kg to 2500 kg, depending on the type and altitude of the orbit required by the customers. The benchmark is for 1500 kg into a 700 km-altitude polar orbit.

 More information on Vega and updates are now available on the new launch website here (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Vega/).[/size]

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Vega/SEMWJWGXTWG_0.html

ЦитироватьMain events

  13-14 Oct 2011    First Flight Readiness Review
24 Oct 2011    Vega boosters and LARES satellite arrive in Kourou Harbour
7 Nov 2011    Launch campaign begins with the P80 transfer to launch pad
2 Dec 2011    Zefiro-23 is added to the launcher
7 Dec 2011    Second Flight Readiness Review gives go ahead for final preparations
9 Dec 2011    Zefiro-9 is added to the vehicle
16 Dec 2011    AVUM transfer to launch pad and mating
13 Jan 2012    Final checkout activities
21 Jan 2012    Upper composite transfer to launch pad for integration
1 Feb 2012    Launch countdown rehearsal
2-7 Feb 2012    Fuelling of restartable AVUM fourth stage
8 Feb 2012    Arming of vehicle
9 Feb 2012    Launch countdown  
 
 Last update: 16 January 2012[/size]

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Vega/SEM0TEWWVUG_0.html

(http://s017.radikal.ru/i411/1201/c7/ab4a5caa2e20.jpg)

http://www.esa.int/esa-mmg/mmg.pl?b=b&keyword=vega&start=1

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22278.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22279.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22280.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22281.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22282.jpg)

По циклограмме пуска между воспламенением РДТТ и отрывом от стартового стола - 3 секунды. Будут удерживать ракету пироболтами?

http://gazeta.ua/ru/articles/business/_ukraina-prodast-italyancam-5-dvigatelej-dlya-rakety/417944

ЦитироватьУкраинские ГКБ "Южное" i ПО "Южмаш" из Днепропетровская начали оформление контракта с итальянской AvioSpA.

Планируется подписать контракт на поставку серийных маршевых двигателей четвертой степени для новой европейской ракеты-носителя (РН) Vega.

"На сегодня технические и экономические параметры серийного контракта стороны согласовали, начата процедура его оформления. Завершить процедуру оформления контракта i подписать документ запланировано до конца января, максимум - начале февраля", - сообщил источник, знакомый с деталями украинского-европейского сотрудничества по программе РН Vega.

По его данным, контракт с правом пролонгацiи рассчитан на 2-3 года. Речь идет об изготовлении и поставке европейским партнерам пяти маршевых двигателей.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Vega/SEMY64BX9WG_mg_1.html

ЦитироватьVega VV01 launch campaign[/size]

The first Vega launch campaign began on 7 November 2011 at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana with the installation of the P80 first stage on the launch pad.

The two solid-propellant second and third stages, the Zefiro-23 and Zefiro-9, were then transferred from the Vega Booster Storage and Preparation Building and added to the vehicle.

All three stages underwent final acceptance, including testing of their thrust vector control system. The next step was to mate the AVUM – Attitude & Vernier Upper Module – liquid-propellant fourth stage to the vehicle.

The 'upper composite' – the fairing and payload – was moved to the pad and integrated on 24 January.

It will be followed in the next weeks by final checkout of the fully assembled launcher and the countdown rehearsal, well in time for liftoff.[/size]

По ссылке фото вывоза ракеты в большом разрешении.

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2012/881.asp

ЦитироватьVega's first flight: Assembly is completed for the no. 1 launcher[/size]

January 26, 2012 – Vega Flight VV01

The first Vega lightweight launcher has completed its build-up at the Spaceport in French Guiana, and will now undergo final checkout for a liftoff scheduled on February 9.

This maiden flight will be performed under responsibility of the European Space Agency, and is to qualify the overall Vega system – including the launcher, ground infrastructure and operations from the launch campaign to payload delivery in orbit.

As a result, it represents an important step towards the lightweight vehicle's introduction in Arianespace's launcher family at the Spaceport, which already consists of the heavy-lift Ariane 5 and the medium-lift Soyuz.

Build-up of the Vega on its launch pad was completed January 24 with the integration of its "upper composite" – consisting of nine satellites and their protective payload fairing atop the vehicle.

During the upcoming mission, Vega's AVUM fourth stage will first reach a circular orbit at an altitude of 1,450 km. and an inclination of 70 deg. to release the Italian LARES laser relativity satellite, which is the flight's main passenger.   Built for the ASI Italian space agency by CGS S.p.A. Compagnia Generale per lo Spazio, LARES is a small solid tungsten sphere weighing nearly 390 kg. and featuring 92 retroreflectors. Ground stations will send laser pulses to measure the precise time it takes the beams to travel between the ground and the passive satellite as it passes overhead.

LARES builds on the experience of two Italian-American geodetic missions (Lageos-1 and Lageos-2), and is to improve measurements of the Lense-Thirring effect by a factor of 10.  The Lense-Thirring effect is the part of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity that describes the distortion of space-time caused by the rotation of a body with mass.

After LARES is deployed during Vega's inaugural flight, the launcher's AVUM fourth stage will then perform a maneuver lowering its perigee to 350 km. before deploying the eight other satellites.  The largest of these is ALMASat-1 (the ALma MAter SATellite), a 12.5-kg. technology demonstrator microsatellite developed and built by the University of Bologne.  Its launch will test the performance of this low-cost, multipurpose 30-cm. platform to prepare for future missions in technology demonstration applications or Earth observation.

Completing the satellite payload are seven CubeSats that have been developed by more than 250 university students from six different countries.  They represent four years of work in the European Space Agency's CubeSat program, which began in 2007 when the organization decided to include an educational payload on the Vega launch vehicle's maiden flight.

The CubeSats are picosatellites of standardized dimensions – cubes of 10 cm. per side, with a maximum mass of 1 kg. – which can be operated from university or radio amateur ground stations. They serve as an educational tool that offers hands-on experience for aerospace engineering students in designing, developing, testing and operating a spacecraft system and its ground segment.  

When Vega enters the Arianespace launcher family, it will provide a capable system for orbiting small- to medium-sized satellites, responding to the growing number of small institutional, scientific spacecraft and other payloads in this category that are under development or planned worldwide.  The benchmark mission is for a 1,500 kg. payload lift performance into a 700 km.-altitude circular orbit.

Vega has three solid-propellant stages, along with a liquid-propellant upper module for attitude/orbit control and satellite deployment.  It will operate from the Spaceport's ZLV launch site, which originally was used for the Ariane 1 and Ariane 3 vehicles, and has been refurbished for its new role with Vega.

The upcoming maiden mission is designated VV01 using Arianespace's numbering system, with the first "V" representing the French word for flight ("vol"), and the second letter referring to Vega.

(http://www.arianespace.com/images/missionup-dates/2012/881-lg.jpg)

Vega's upper composite – consisting of nine satellites inside the payload fairing – is mated atop the launcher inside its mobile gantry.[/size]

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMDA5I8RXG_index_1.html

ЦитироватьFirst Vega rocket assembled on launch pad[/size]
 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22482.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/_SC14851.jpg)
Fully assembled Vega on launch pad
 
27 January 2012
ESA's new Vega rocket is now fully assembled on its launch pad. Final preparations are in full swing for the rocket's inaugural flight from Europe's Spaceport. The launch window opens on 9 February.
 
The upper composite, comprising LARES, ALMASat-1, seven CubeSats, the payload adapter and the fairing, was moved to the pad late Monday night. A night transfer is the standard practice in Kourou to avoid overheating the payloads.

The move ended early Tuesday morning with its installation on the dedicated stand inside the mobile gantry to await mating with the launcher.  

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22483.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/coiffe0002.JPG)
Upper composite mating

The composite was then added on top of Vega's AVUM fourth stage to finalise electrical connections and verify links, concluding with the final mechanical connection.

The main remaining steps to the maiden flight are the final checkout of the assembled vehicle, the full launch countdown rehearsal and the fuelling of the restartable AVUM.

Vega qualification flight

This first flight, dubbed VV01, marks the end of nine years of development by ESA and its partners, Italian space agency ASI, French space agency CNES and industry.
 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22484.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/coiffe0008.JPG)
Upper composite mating
   
It will lift off from the new Vega launch site at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, carrying nine satellites into orbit. The launch window opens on 9 February and ends a few days later.

The mission will qualify the overall Vega system, including the vehicle, the ground infrastructure and operations from the launch campaign to the payload separation and disposal of the upper module.

In particular, it will demonstrate the vehicle's performances and payload services in flight.
 
A flexible mission
 
Vega will provide Europe with a safe, reliable and competitive capacity to carry science and Earth observation satellites into orbit, while perfectly complementing the heavy Ariane 5 and medium Soyuz rockets already launched from the spaceport.

The rocket is designed to cope with a wide range of missions and payload configurations in order to respond to different market opportunities and provide great flexibility.
 
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22485.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/_SC15059.jpg)   
Vega's new launch site
   
Unlike most small launchers, Vega is able to place multiple payloads into orbit. In particular, it offers configurations able to handle payloads ranging from a single satellite up to one main satellite plus six microsatellites.

It is compatible with payload masses ranging from 300 kg to 2500 kg, depending on the type and altitude of the orbit required by the customers. The benchmark is for 1500 kg into a 700 km-altitude polar orbit.[/size]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/esa_events/sets/72157629052177709/

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22486.jpg) (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6771002583_3e9eaacd3d_o.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22487.jpg) (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6771003011_9706fdc35b_o.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22488.jpg) (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/6770127905_01d3c18839_o.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22489.jpg) (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6770128225_cdf60ddd29_o.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22490.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22491.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22492.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22493.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22494.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22495.jpg) (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7033/6771003393_3b22712244_o.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22496.jpg) (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6770128779_cc6e0f069e_o.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22497.jpg) (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7028/6770129227_3f0657898a_o.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22498.jpg) (http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7009/6770130039_bbc4d31214_o.jpg)

http://cybersecurity.ru/space/142880.html

ЦитироватьЕвропейское космическое агентство готово к запуску первой ракеты-носителя Вега[/size]
(15:46) 29.01.2012
   
// CyberSecurity.ru // - В Европейском космическом агентстве рассказали, что на этой неделе технический персонал на южноамериканском космодроме Куру завершил сборку и установку первой ракеты-носителя Вега, представляющей собой решение среднего класса для вывода беспилотных космических аппаратов. Точная дата и время первого полета ракеты пока не утверждено, но стартовое окно для нее открывается 9 февраля.

Согласно предоставленным данным, в рамках первого полета Вега выведет на орбиту спутники LARES, ALMASat-1 и семь микроспутников CubeSat. В понедельник и вторник на этой неделе инженеры завершили сборку головной части ракеты, где находятся все спутники адаптеры для них. Сейчас специалисты проверяют электрические компоненты и соединения внутри ракеты.

Напомним, что ракеты легкого класса Вега способны выводить на орбиту до 1,5 тонн полезной нагрузки. Процесс сборки этой ракеты во многом автоматизирован и ведется силами небольшого числа специалистов. Сборка Вега в значительной степени идентична сборке тяжелой европейской ракеты Ariane-5.

Изначально проект ракет Вега разрабатывался с начала 1990-х итальянским космическим агентством, как замена ракете Scout производства США. Планируемая полезная нагрузка Вега составит 1500 кг на полярную орбиту высотой 700 км. Италия является ведущим разработчиком проекта и отвечает за 65 % бюджета, другие участвующие страны — Франция (15%), Испания (6%), Бельгия (5,63%), Нидерланды (3,5%), Швейцария (1,34%) и Швеция (0,8%). В перспективе при помощи ракет планируется выводить на орбиту европейские пилотируемые корабли IXV (Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle).

Над первым полетом VV01 европейские ведомства работали практически девять лет, собирая четыре различных ступени ракеты и проверяя соединения между ними.

В Европе говорят, что со вводом Веги в строй, ЕКА получает возможность работать с ракетами всех трех классов - легкими (Вега), средними (Союз) тяжелыми (Ariane-5). Две последних ракеты уже ранее взлетали с космодрома Куру.

По словам представителей космодрома, в ближайшие дни будет определены дата и время старта, после чего можно будет приступить к заправке ракеты топливом.[/size]

Про европейские пилотируемые корабли - тоже интересно :wink:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aISA31MokQ&feature=player_embedded

Это им что ли зону падения 3-й ступени закрыли?

ЦитироватьB0355/12 - TEMPO DANGER AREA NZD027 (SUBANTARCTIC REGION) IS PRESCRIBED AS FLW: ALL THAT AIRSPACE BOUNDED BY S 58 38 00, W 131 00 00 S 57 15 00, W 131 00 00 S 66 09 00, E 163 00 00 S 64 40 00, E 163 36 00 S 58 38 00, W 131 00 00 UPPER LIMIT: UNL LOWER LIMIT: SFC ACTIVITY: SPACE DEBRIS RETURN. USER AGENCY: FOREIGN SPACE AGENCY. PRESCRIBED PURSUANT TO CIVIL AVIATION RULE PART 71 UNDER A DELEGATED AUTHORITY ISSUED BY THE DIRECTOR OF CIVIL AVIATION. SFC - FL999, 09 FEB 10:00 2012 UNTIL 09 FEB 15:05 2012. CREATED: 30 JAN 03:22 2012

Интересно, кто-нибудь обратил внимание, что их LARES вылитый наш "Ларец"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaUMSLU0aig&feature=player_embedded
http://multimedia.esa.int/Videos/2012/01/Vega-qualification-flight

Запуск легкой ракеты "Вега" с космодрома Куру перенесен на 13 февраля

ЦитироватьМОСКВА, 3 фев - РИА Новости. Запуск первой ракеты-носителя легкого класса "Вега" (Vega) с космодрома Куру во Французской Гвиане назначен на 13 февраля, говорится в сообщении Европейского космического агентства (ЕКА).

Ранее в качестве даты запуска называлось 9 февраля. Глава московского представительства ЕКА Рене Пишель подтвердил РИА Новости, что запуск действительно был перенесен, но затруднился назвать причины переноса. В сообщении ЕКА они также не уточняются.

Ранее ракета была доставлена на стартовую площадку и успешно прошла предварительную проверку всех систем. Стартовое окно для запуска 13 февраля открывается в 07.00 местного времени (14.00 мск) и продлится два часа.

http://ria.ru/science/20120203/555470091.html

ЦитироватьИнтересно, кто-нибудь обратил внимание, что их LARES вылитый наш "Ларец"?

Вот наш "Ларец":

(http://s017.radikal.ru/i419/1202/b3/acc5de86e4d2.jpg) (http://www.radikal.ru)

А вот ихний LARES:

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/21122.jpg)

http://www.arianespace.com/news-mission-update/2012/882.asp

ЦитироватьVega's inaugural flight is set for February 13 at the Spaceport[/size]

February 3, 2012 – Vega Flight VV01

The first Vega qualification flight is set for February 13 from French Guiana, marking an important step toward this new lightweight vehicle's introduction into Arianespace's commercial launcher family.

With a liftoff set during a two-hour launch window that extends from 7:00 a.m. local time at the Spaceport, this mission will be performed under responsibility of the European Space Agency – which led Vega's development with Italy's ASI space agency and the industrial prime contractor, ELV SpA.  

The maiden flight is intended to qualify the overall Vega system, including the vehicle itself, its launch infrastructure and operations – from the launch campaign to payload delivery in orbit.

Vega was conceived for the orbiting of small- to medium-sized satellites, including institutional and scientific spacecraft.  Its benchmark mission is for a 1,500 kg. payload lift performance into a 700 km.-altitude circular orbit.

Once qualified, Vega will join Arianespace's heavy-lift Ariane 5 and medium-lift Soyuz in side-by-side operations at the Spaceport.  Operations of this lightweight vehicle are performed from the Spaceport's ZLV launch site, which originally was used for Ariane 1 and Ariane 3 launcher versions, and has been refurbished for its new role with Vega.

The inaugural Vega mission will carry a payload composed of nine spacecraft: Italy's LARES laser relativity satellite, the small ALMASat-1 technology microsatellite demonstrator from the University of Bologne, and seven CubeSats developed by more than 250 university students from six different countries.[/size]

Italian satellite to help measure space-time warp

ЦитироватьScheduled for launch from French Guiana on Monday, Europe's first lightweight Vega rocket is packed with nine small research satellites, including a unique Italian craft designed to help make an elusive accurate measurement of a central tenet of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.

The 98-foot-tall booster is due for liftoff in a two-hour launch window opening at 1000 GMT (5 a.m. EST) Monday. The four-stage launcher, developed with Italian leadership, will make its first flight from the Guiana Space Center, a European-run spaceport in French Guiana.

The Vega rocket will deploy its nine payloads at different altitudes, first releasing the Laser Relativity Satellite about 55 minutes after launch in a circular 901 mile-high orbit with an inclination of 69.5 degrees.

Another firing by the Vega's fourth stage, powered by a Ukrainian liqiud-fueled engine, will reduce the altitude of the orbit's low point to 217 miles before deploying Italy's ALMASat 1 technology demonstration satellite and seven two-pound CubeSats built by learning institutions across Europe.

The Vega's mission will conclude 81 minutes after launch.

Officials selected LARES as the main passenger for the rocket's qualification flight, which aims to prove Vega's flight and ground systems before it is entrusted with more costly payloads on subsequent missions.

Carved out of a single ball of tungsten, LARES is covered with 92 laser retroreflectors, allowing a network of ranging stations around the world to track the spherical satellite in orbit.

By bouncing laser signals off reflectors on LARES, scientists can precisely compute its position in space. After comparing the actual location of LARES against predictions, researchers can measure the frame-dragging effect, part of Einstein's theory of general relativity which states that a rotating mass can distort space-time around it.

"Imagine the Earth as if it were immersed in honey. As the planet rotates, the honey around it would swirl, and it's the same with space and time," said Francis Everitt, a Standford University researcher who led the science team for NASA's Gravity Probe B mission, which confirmed the frame-dragging, or Lense-Thirring, effect at 37.2 milliarcseconds with a margin for error of about 19 percent.

Gravity Probe B's results were announced in May 2011.
 
The frame-dragging effect manifests itself in minuscule changes in the orbits of satellites. Scientists observed two precursors to LARES, named LAGEOS 1 and LAGEOS 2, over several years to determine their orbital planes shifted 6 feet per year in the direction of Earth's rotation.

The LAGEOS tracking, coupled with a precise Earth gravity model, produced an estimation of the frame-dragging effect at 99 percent of the value predicted under general relativity. The joint U.S.-Italian LAGEOS mission ultimately measured the effect with an accuracy of about 10 percent.

The objective of LARES is to refine the real effect of frame-dragging with an accuracy approaching 1 percent, according to the Italian space agency, which is funding the mission.

Better data on the frame-dragging effect around Earth will help astrophysicists study distant black holes, neutron stars and active galactic nuclei, whose immense gravity creates much stronger warping of space-time.

LARES was designed at Sapienza University of Rome and built by Carlo Gavazzi Space. The passive satellite measures 14.8 inches in diameter and has a mass of about 881 pounds, according to ESA.

The satellite is mounted on a support structure housing a camera and avionics to command the separation of Vega's secondary payloads. The avionics, derived from technology used in Formula 1 auto racing, will acquire data from a suite of environmental and acceleration sensors measuring the performance of the Vega launcher.

ALMASat 1, Vega's second largest payload, was developed by the University of Bologna. The 27.5-pound craft will test technologies and a low-cost satellite bus for future Earth observation missions.

Loaded inside three PPOD deployers, the Vega launcher's seven CubeSat passengers include:

   e-St@r - Developed by the Polytechnics Institute of Turin in Italy, e-St@r willtest an active determination and control subsystem for 3-axis control as well as a set of commercial components and materials.

   Goliat - Developed by the University of Bucharest in Romania, Goliat will perform Earth imaging with a 3-megapixel digital camera and conduct measurements of radiation and micrometeoroids in low-Earth orbit. This is Romania's first satellite.

   MaSat 1 - Developed by the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary, MaSat 1 will demonstrate a power conditioning system, a transceiver and an onboard data handling system. This is Hungary's first satellite.

   PW-Sat 1 - Developed by the Warsaw University of Technology in Poland, PW-Sat 1 will deploy a solar sail as a drag augmentation device in order to accelerate the removal of picosatellites at the end of their missions. This is Poland's first satellite.

   Robusta - Developed by the University of Montpellier in France, Robusta will study the effect of radiation on electronic components based on bipolar transistors for comparison with its own degradation models.

   UniCubeSat GG - Developed by the GAUSS astrodynamics group of the Sapienza University of Rome, UniCubeSat GG will deploy two booms to demonstrate gravity-gradient stabilization on a picosatellite. Each boom will carry a solar panel at its end to generate electrical power.

   Xatcobeo - Developed by the University of Vigo in Spain, Xatcobeo will test a software-defined reconfigurable radio and an ionizing radiation measurement system. It will also test a solar panel deployment system.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/vega/vv01/120210lares/

Видео о кубосатах для Веги:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqPK20a0Dic

Трансляция:
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Vega/SEM8QAWX7YG_0.html

ЦитироватьVega countdown timeline
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: February 12, 2011
T-07:45:00   Start of Countdown
The final countdown begins with functional checks of the rocket.

T-06:45:00   Verification of Communications Links
Launch controllers verify communications, tracking and telecommand links between the Vega rocket and ground facilities at the Guiana Space Center.

T-05:40:00   Launcher Powered On
Systems on the Vega launcher are powered on for health checks.

T-04:20:00   Inertial Platform Alignment
The 98-foot-tall rocket's inertial navigation platform is aligned for flight.

T-02:40:00   Gantry Rollback
The mobile service gantry, which stands 16 stories tall, is retracted about 260 feet away from the Vega rocket at the ZLV launch complex at the Guiana Space Center.

T-00:44:00   Ready for Final Countdown
Engineers conduct another check of Vega's systems before the beginning of the computer-controlled synchronized sequence.

T-00:03:30   Start of Synchronized Sequence
Computers assume command of the countdown in the final minutes, making thousands of checks to ensure all systems are ready for liftoff.

T-00:00:00   Ignition
Ignition of the Vega's solid-fueled P80 first stage motor, followed by liftoff 0.3 seconds later.



Data source: ESA

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/vega/vv01/presskit.pdf

(http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/262/v11xk.jpg)

(http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/1/v12b.jpg)

(http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/1577/v15b.jpg)

С миру по нитке и получилась первая итальянская РН под эгидой ЕКА. Это достижение, ранее Италия просто покупала "Скауты" у США для своего, теперь уже бывшего космодрома Сан-Марко. Кстати, Куру фартовый космодром, он уже поверг два своих конкурента: Вумера и Сан-Марко.

Вообще, дорогая игрушка. Если число в 1.4 млрд евро для разработки  этого малыша верна, то это жестко. Куда там "Ангаре" тягаться.  :) Да и стоимость пуска тоже кусaется, вон недавно на 2013 год ЕКА собиралось пускать два своих спутника на "Рокоте". А там "Рокот" заменят на "Ангару-1" и Еврокот также будет жить на ней. Так что "Веге" еще предстоит побороться за место под солнцем.

Место - госзаказ. И оно для Веги гарантировано.

Выше неточность - бортовое ПО на том, что полетит - не от EADS Astrium ST. Публичная информация здесь http://www.spacenews.com/civil/100611-french-export-restrictions-snare-vega.html
а подробности истории пока не для широкой публики, но со временем, думаю, где-нибудь "сольются"

Добавлено: о, отстал от жизни - первый пуск-таки с бортовым ПО из Ле Мюро, ну на условиях "черного ящика". По крайней мере, официально.

ЦитироватьДа и стоимость пуска тоже кусaется, вон недавно на 2013 год ЕКА собиралось пускать два своих спутника на "Рокоте".

Если вы о "Сентинелах", то это уже не совсем ЕКА аппараты, а, скорее, ЕС.

ЦитироватьESA Operations @esaoperations  

Big day! Join us for 1st qualification flight of Vega, streaming start 10:40CET #VegaLaunch window opens 11:00CET bit.ly/wkYXd5

Трансляцию начнут в 13:40мск.

ЦитироватьESA Operations @esaoperations  

Update from Kourou: weather 'green' Everything 'Go' for #Vegalaunch - webcast starts 10:40CET bit.ly/wkYXd5 & bit.ly/2mAoXY

Цитировать

ЦитироватьДа и стоимость пуска тоже кусaется, вон недавно на 2013 год ЕКА собиралось пускать два своих спутника на "Рокоте".

Если вы о "Сентинелах", то это уже не совсем ЕКА аппараты, а, скорее, ЕС.

Насколько я помню, между ЕС и ЕКА есть соглашение о том, что деятельность Еврокомиссии в космосе реализует ЕКА. Именно так реализуется "Галилео". Так что это заказ ЕКА. Так до заказов "Ангары-1" дойти дело может, если цену не задерут. А ведь "часовых" уже можно было пускать на Веге, но видать, цена смутила.

ЦитироватьА ведь "часовых" уже можно было пускать на Веге, но видать, цена смутила.

Sentinel 2b и 3b - пока на Веге, 2а и 3а - на Рокоте. И еще все может поменяться, в заваисимости от количества аварий Рокота и Веги до того. Все миссии подобные готовят пакеты документов и контрактов на минимум 2 носителя, некоторые - на 3.

Также Вега - основной вариант (по документам и по настроению менеджмента)для ADM Aeolus и Lisa Pathfinder. Двух многострадальных миссий, которые рано илли поздно все же запустят :)

ЦитироватьИменно так реализуется "Галилео". Так что это заказ ЕКА.

Увы, все намного сложнее.

На http://www.livestream.com/eurospaceagency в тестовом включении сабж показали ;)

дойдет сегодня до пуска или нет  :?

Еще минут десять и начнут трансляцию ;)
Картинка с профилем:
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22730.jpg)
Оригинальное разрешение 3500 x 2499 http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7054/6868486629_6a3c8095a0_o.jpg

Пошла трансляция

Тут http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Vega/SEM8QAWX7YG_0.html со звуком
А тут http://www.livestream.com/eurospaceagency почему-то тишина...

Сколько местного времени? По моему вечер.

Птички на "проволоке" сидят :)

http://www.livestream.com/eurospaceagency
звук есть
-30сек

ЦитироватьСколько местного времени? По моему вечер.

раннее утро

ПОЕХАЛИ!!!

ПОШЛА!

Улетела!

По французски слышу, что все нормаль :)

первая ступень отработала

вторая

Нормаль.

Приятно, на заднем плане, видеть макет Союза.

третья)

Вперёд, Украина! :wink:

Выключили.
Нормаль.

Первое включение AVUM в норме. Ждем второго :-)

пошли повторы, резво пошла

Ага, через 34 минуты.

Кстати, пуск без трансляции с рокеткамов ;)

Второе включение через 10 минут.

ЦитироватьВторое включение через 10 минут.

А его кто видит?

Цитировать

ЦитироватьВторое включение через 10 минут.

А его кто видит?

Южная Корея какая-нибудь :)

Есть включение. Нормаль :)

Цитировать

Цитировать

ЦитироватьВторое включение через 10 минут.

А его кто видит?

Южная Корея какая-нибудь :)

пишут Перт

Перт принимает :)

Цитировать

ЦитироватьВторое включение через 10 минут.

А его кто видит?

В ответ на Ваш вопрос, поверх видео, написали, что Перт ;)

LARES отделился!

Отделение LARES нормаль.

LARES пошёл

Чуть-чуть не угадал :)

Новейшая европейская ракета Vega впервые запущена с космодрома Куру

ЦитироватьМОСКВА, 13 фев - РИА Новости. Новейшая европейская разработка ракета-носитель Vega ("Вега") легкого класса с научными спутниками впервые стартовала с космодрома Куру во Французской Гвиане, сообщил РИА Новости глава представительства Европейского космического агентства (ЕКА) в РФ Рене Пишель.

"Первый запуск Vega состоялся в расчетное время с новой стартовой площадки. Теперь в распоряжении Европейского космического агентства имеется вся линейка ракет: тяжелый Ariane-5 может выводить на орбиты спутники весом от 6,8 до 18,5 тонны, российский "Союз-СТ" среднего класса - от 2,8 до 4,2 тонны, легкая Vega - спутники массой 1,5 тонны", - отметил Пишель.

По его словам, первая Vega выводит на орбиту итальянские научные спутники LARES (Laser Relativity Satellite) и ALMASat-1, а также семь микроспутников в рамках программы CubeSat, созданных европейскими университетами.

Отделение спутника LARES от ракеты намечено через 55 минут после запуска. Космические аппараты ALMASat-1 и семь микроспутников CubeSat должны отделиться через 15 минут после вывода на орбиту аппарата LARES.

LARES - научный спутник Итальянского космического агентства. На нем установлены отражатели, которые будут использоваться для отслеживания спутника с помощью лазерных станций Международной службы лазерной локации (ILRS) на Земле. Основная научная цель миссии - измерение так называемого эффекта Лензе-Тирринга, связанного с доказательством общей теорией относительности. Спутник LARES также может быть использован для научных измерений в области геодинамики и спутниковой геодезии.

Диаметр LARES составляет 36,4 сантиметров, масса космического аппарата - около 400 килограммов. LARES будет выведен на орбиту с перигеем в 1,4 тысячи километров, наклонением 60-86 градусов.

ALMASat (Alma Mater Satellite) - спутник, построенный в Болонском университете (Италия). Первый демонстрационный полет ALMASat должен был состояться в ноябре 2005 года. Спутник планировалось вывести с помощью российской ракеты-носителя "Днепр", однако запуск был отложен до первого полета Vega. Космический аппарат будет применяться для проверки работоспособности пассивной электродинамической системой свода аппаратов с орбиты, разработанной компанией Alenia Spazio и римским университетом La Sapienza. ALMASat весит около 12,5 килограммов и состоит из кубических призм.

Микроспутники серии CubeSat имеют массу не более 1,33 килограмма каждый. Начиная с 1999 года, Калифорнийский государственный политехнический университет (Cal Poly) и Стэнфордский университет разработали несколько вариантов спутников CubeSat, чтобы помочь университетам всего мира в развитии и изучении космической науки и исследований.

http://ria.ru/science/20120213/564598843.html

Опоздал. Старта не увидел :? Three sat:  bum-bum-bum :)

Третье включение.

ЦитироватьНовейшая европейская ракета Vega впервые запущена с космодрома Куру

ЦитироватьМОСКВА, 13 фев - РИА Новости.
....
Диаметр LARES составляет 36,4 сантиметров, масса космического аппарата - около 400 килограммов. LARES будет выведен на орбиту с перигеем в 1,4 тысячи километров, наклонением 60-86 градусов.

http://ria.ru/science/20120213/564598843.html

Он там что, из цельного куска золота или вольфрама  выточен? (плотность ~ 16 т/м^3)
http://www.tochmeh.ru/info/plotn.php

McМurdo видит

Поздравляю! :wink:

Так, уже начали обниматься

Все. Кубики кинули :)

Ну что, можно поздравить конкурентов Рокоту и союзников по Зениту/Днепру :))

Если долго мучиться что-нибудь получится(с) :D
Поздравляю!
Но Бог любит троицу.
февраль-июнь-ноябрь. :roll:

Фотографии http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMBTKYXHYG_index_1.html

"Factum"

Цитировать

ЦитироватьНовейшая европейская ракета Vega впервые запущена с космодрома Куру

ЦитироватьМОСКВА, 13 фев - РИА Новости.
....
Диаметр LARES составляет 36,4 сантиметров, масса космического аппарата - около 400 килограммов. LARES будет выведен на орбиту с перигеем в 1,4 тысячи километров, наклонением 60-86 градусов.

http://ria.ru/science/20120213/564598843.html

Он там что, из цельного куска золота или вольфрама  выточен? (плотность ~ 16 т/м^3)
http://www.tochmeh.ru/info/plotn.php

Да, именно из вольфрама - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LARES_%28satellite%29.

ЦитироватьThe satellite, completely passive, is made of tungsten alloy and houses 92 cube corner retroreflectors that will be used to track the satellite via laser from stations on Earth.

По теме запуска Vega - мои поздравления европейцам! Еще одна хорошая машина лишней не будет.

Запущенная с Куру ракета Vega полностью выполнила программу полета

ЦитироватьМОСКВА, 13 фев - РИА Новости. Новейшая европейская ракета-носитель Vega ("Вега") легкого класса, впервые запущенная в понедельник с космодрома Куру во Французской Гвиане, полностью выполнила программу своего полета, выведя на орбиту сначала научный спутник LARES, а затем аппарат ALMASat и микроспутники CubeSat, сообщил РИА Новости глава представительства Европейского космического агентства (ЕКА) в РФ Рене Пишель.

"Получено подтверждение, что аппарат ALMASat и микроспутники CubeSat выведены на орбиту", - отметил Пишель.

Первый запуск Vega состоялся с новой стартовой площадки, специально построенной в Куру. Теперь в распоряжении Европейского космического агентства имеется вся линейка ракет: тяжелая Ariane-5 может выводить на орбиты спутники весом от 6,8 до 18,5 тонны, российский "Союз-СТ" среднего класса - от 2,8 до 4,2 тонны, легкая Vega - спутники массой 1,5 тонны.

Отделение первого спутника LARES от ракеты состоялось через 55 минут после запуска. Аппарат ALMASat-1 и семь микроспутников CubeSat отделились через 15 минут после вывода на орбиту LARES.

ALMASat (Alma Mater Satellite) - спутник, построенный в Болонском университете (Италия). Первый демонстрационный полет ALMASat должен был состояться в ноябре 2005 года. Аппарат планировалось вывести с помощью российской ракеты-носителя "Днепр", однако запуск был отложен до первого полета Vega. Спутник будет применяться для проверки работоспособности пассивной электродинамической системой свода аппаратов с орбиты, разработанной компанией Alenia Spazio и римским университетом La Sapienza. ALMASat весит около 12,5 килограммов и состоит из кубических призм.

http://ria.ru/science/20120213/564665631.html

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22731.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/_ESA0347.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22732.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/_ESA0359.jpg) (https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22733.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/_ESA0380.jpg)

Видео (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc0opzSRH9k&feature=player_profilepage) (15:40)

кстати, а до этого южмашевские движки делали 3 включения в космосе ?

из темы об ожиданиях 2011 года

Цитировать

Цитировать

ЦитироватьЯ жду первых полётов Союза-2-1В и Taurus II.
Наконец-то НК-33 станет двигателем с лётной историей.

И наконец-то Союза и Веги из Куру.

Весна - 2012 . Кто раньше: Союз-2-1В или Taurus II :wink:

Vega. :roll:

:wink:

ЦитироватьЛегкая ракета Vega впервые стартовала с южноамериканского космодрома Куру, напугав российских экспертов[/size]

http://www.newsru.com/world/13feb2012/vega.html
..
...
... Испытание европейской ракеты Vega не обрадовало российских экспертов, которые опасаются, что это может негативно отразиться на заказах на аналогичные разработки, которые делаются в нашей стране, передает "Интерфакс". В частности, после завершения летных испытаний Vega российские конверсионные ракеты легкого класса "Рокот" могут потерять часть рынка, считает редактор журнала "Новости космонавтики" Игорь Афанасьев.

"Европейское космическое агентство создавало Vega для обеспечения выведения собственных аппаратов, - отметил эксперт, - поэтому если оно и будет предлагать Vega на коммерческий рынок, то только после завершения всех летно-конструкторских испытаний, набора положительной летной статистики".

По словам Афанасьева, Vega близка "Рокоту" по массе выводимой на околоземную орбиту полезной нагрузки, но уступает по этому параметру новой российской ракете-носителю "Союз-2.1в", испытания которой должны начаться в этом году. Примерная стоимость пуска российской ракеты "Рокот" пока ниже, чем стоимость пуска европейской Vega. Однако это объясняется тем, что в стоимость пуска европейской ракеты входят затраты на ее разработку. Точно оценить стоимость пуска Vega пока не может даже ЕКА, сообщил Афанасьев.

В то же время, рассказал он, Vega превосходит "Рокот" и "Союз-2.1в" по удобству предстартовой подготовки и обслуживанию. "Она гораздо удобнее, чем "Союз", и тем более ракеты-носителя, который использует менее экологичные виды топлива, включая тот же "Рокот", - сказал он. ....
...

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Vega/index.html

ЦитироватьESA's new Vega launcher scores success on maiden flight[/size]
 
13 February 2012
PR 3 2012 - Vega, ESA's new launch vehicle, is ready to operate alongside the Ariane 5 and Soyuz launchers after a successful qualification flight this morning from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
 
 With Vega extending the family of launchers available at the spaceport, Europe now covers the full range of launch needs, from small science and Earth observation satellites to the largest missions like ESA's supply freighters to the International Space Station.

 The first Vega lifted off at 10:00 GMT (11:00 CET, 07:00 local time) from the new launch pad, and conducted a flawless qualification flight.

Vega's light launch capacity accommodates a wide range of satellites – from 300 kg to 2500 kg – into a wide variety of orbits, from equatorial to Sun-synchronous. Its reference mission is 1500 kg into a 700 km-high circular Sun-synchronous orbit.

 Vega will thus add to Europe's set of launch services next to the Ariane 5 heavy-lifter and the Soyuz medium-class launcher already in service.

 The combination of these three systems operating from French Guiana will also improve the efficiency of Europe's launch infrastructure by sharing its operating costs over a larger number of launches.  
 
"In a little more than three months, Europe has increased the number of launchers it operates from one to three, widening significantly the range of launch services offered by the European operator Arianespace. There is not anymore one single European satellite which cannot be launched by a European launcher service," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of ESA.

 "It is a great day for ESA, its Member States, in particularly Italy where Vega was born, for European industry and for Arianespace."

 Vega launcher development started in 2003. Seven Member States contributed to the programme: Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

 "Today is a moment of pride for Europe as well as those around 1000 individuals who have been involved in developing the world's most modern and competitive launcher system for small satellites," said Antonio Fabrizi, ESA's Director of Launchers.

 "ESA, with the technical support of the Italian and French space agencies, and about 40 industrial companies coordinated by the prime contractor ELV SpA, have made this enormous challenge a reality in under a decade of development."

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22736.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/_ESA0359_HOR.jpg)

More on the flight
 
13 February 2012
 
 All of Vega's three solid-propellant stages performed as planned. The upper stage manoeuvred to reach a circular orbit at an altitude of 1450 km inclined at 69.5

Цитировать.... "Она гораздо удобнее, чем "Союз", и тем более ракеты-носителя, который использует менее экологичные виды топлива, включая тот же "Рокот", [/color]- сказал он. ....
...

[/quote]

Интересно, и чем же она удобнее? К тому же "Рокот" уходит, на его место придет "Ангара-1".

Хотя бы тем, что в случае отмены пуска сливать топливо не нужно.

Цитировать

Цитировать

ЦитироватьНовейшая европейская ракета Vega впервые запущена с космодрома Куру

ЦитироватьМОСКВА, 13 фев - РИА Новости.
....
Диаметр LARES составляет 36,4 сантиметров, масса космического аппарата - около 400 килограммов. LARES будет выведен на орбиту с перигеем в 1,4 тысячи километров, наклонением 60-86 градусов.

http://ria.ru/science/20120213/564598843.html

Он там что, из цельного куска золота или вольфрама  выточен? (плотность ~ 16 т/м^3)
http://www.tochmeh.ru/info/plotn.php

Да, именно из вольфрама - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LARES_%28satellite%29 .

Чугуниевые космические технологии :wink:

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/vega/vv01/launchphotos/

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22737.jpg)

Первый польский спутник протестирует технологию схода с орбиты

ЦитироватьВАРШАВА, 13 фев - РИА Новости, Евгений Безека. Первый польский спутник, выведенный в понедельник на орбиту ракетой Vega с космодрома Куру во Французской Гвиане, позволит испытать новую технологию схода с орбиты, сообщил РИА Новости научный сотрудник Астрономического центра имени Коперника в Варшаве Гжегож Возьняк.

Микроспутник PW-Sat весом около одного килограмма был создан студентами Варшавского политехнического института совместно с центром имени Коперника. Его основное предназначение - проверка разработанной студентами технологии торможения спутников при помощи "хвоста" для их последующего спуска с орбиты. Успешное испытание этой технологии позволит разработать способ дешевой утилизации спутников, которые, оставаясь на орбите, превращаются со временем в космический мусор.

"В настоящее время вышедшие из строя спутники можно свести с орбиты с использованием двигателей. Наши студенты разработали инновационный, пассивный метод для спуска спутников с орбиты - с помощью так называемого хвоста, который по команде с Земли выпускает спутник", - сказал Возьняк.

Ученый пояснил, что эксперимент, на который было выделено около 250 тысяч злотых (около 80 тысяч долларов), начнется примерно через месяц. Сначала польские ученые проверят работоспособность всех систем. Затем по команде из Польши спутник развернет свой "хвост", изготовленный из стального каркаса и солнечных батарей, которые также испытают в космосе.

В течение следующих месяцев "хвост" будет тормозить космический аппарат на околоземной орбите, пока спутник не войдет в плотные слои атмосферы и не сгорит.

Новейшая европейская ракета легкого класса Vega в понедельник вывела на орбиту итальянские научные спутники LARES (Laser Relativity Satellite) и ALMASat-1, а также семь микроспутников в рамках программы CubeSat, созданных европейскими университетами.

http://ria.ru/science/20120213/564790446.html

Видимо следующий спутник будет имееть тормозной парашют :)
Я так и не могу понять зачем все это?

ЦитироватьВидимо следующий спутник будет имееть тормозной парашют :)
Я так и не могу понять зачем все это?

А понтов куча  :wink:

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/vega/vv01/launchphotos/index2.html

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22746.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22747.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22748.jpg)
(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/22749.jpg)

Ура, заработало :)
Поздравляю всех причастных и соучастных - родилась ещё одна новая РН планеты Земля! ))

Поздравляю хохлов!

Что-то я не понял зачем оно нужно если есть Союз, но поздравляю. :)

ЦитироватьВидимо следующий спутник будет имееть тормозной парашют :)
Я так и не могу понять зачем все это?

C парашютом уже был (Nanosail-D2). Зачем - тоже понятно: для сокращения срока существования аппаратика в виде мусора после завершения программы полета.

Мои поздравления европейцам и Южмашу!
Ждем Союз-2.1В и Антарес.

Союз-2.1В где-то в ноябре, Антарес вроде пораньше.

аффтар жжет, иначе не скажешь
http://for-ua.com/politics/2012/02/10/145546.html

ЦитироватьРоссийский посол также выразил недовольство тем, что Украина участвует в европейском космическом проекте. «Когда сейчас Южмаш производит двигатели для европейского проекта «Вега», это результат того, что в какой-то момент часть украинской элиты вдруг неожиданно смогла сделать то, что до сих пор осложняет наши отношения», - добавил он.

А каковы орбиты спутников то?

У Лареса круговая ~ 1450 км, у остальных не круговая :)

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=27161.msg862099#msg862099

ЦитироватьActually, the de-orbit burn is still to be achieved. we are just a bit away from perfection. That burn is already programmed inside the on-board computer. If I well remember the flight software can also be programmed with a 4th burn (the 5th being the de-orbit) and I am not sure if they will be using this capability for some other tests.


            According to the press release there won't be a de-orbit burn. The AVUM is in an orbit that will active re-entry in a few years and remaining fuel is vented but no specific re-entry burn will be preformed.


        Yes, after deployment of LARES the third burn decreased the perigee from 1450 km to 350km. Then cubesat deployment. With this perigee reentry will occur far earlier than the required 25 years due to athmospheric friction.


    I noted your objections. I am now forwarding a request to the development team for clarification on this. I would be surprised if they chose not to test that part of the flight software.


Now three objects cataloged - B is 315 x 1441 km, C is 307 x 1442 km,
and A is a little lower at 274 x 1427 km
So it may be that AVUM was vented in such a way to lower the perigee by a further 30 km or so from ~310 km to 274 km.

Still haven't found any data on the AVUM initial perigee/apogee (at Z9A separation) so if you talk to the team maybe you can ask them that too?

А наклонение?

:) Итальянцев можно поздраить с окончанием 20-летнего долгостроя и запуском РН национальной разработки. Да, там намешано со всей Европы, но разработка их. ИМХО, это главное событие.

И то, что все прошло без проблем, тоже хорошо.  :)  Мне понравилось то, что пуск комментировала девушка. Необычно было. Кстати, так лучше. Правда, пуск итальянской РН надо было бы комментировать еще и на итальянском, но видать, официальный язык на Куру - французский, так как космодром ранее был французским.

NORAD    38077
COSPAR   2012-006A  
Эпоха (UTC)   14.02.2012 03:06
Наклонение   69.507
Аргумент перигея   45.850
Период   101.97 мин.
Перигей x Апогей   274 x 1 430 км

NORAD    38078
COSPAR   2012-006B  
Эпоха (UTC)   14.02.2012 03:11
Наклонение   69.484
Аргумент перигея   43.413
Период   102.52 мин.
Перигей x Апогей   316 x 1 441 км

NORAD    38079
COSPAR   2012-006C
Эпоха (UTC)   14.02.2012 03:10
Наклонение   69.487
Аргумент перигея   43.458
Период   102.45 мин.
Перигей x Апогей   308 x 1 441 км

NORAD    38080
COSPAR   2012-006D  
Эпоха (UTC)   14.02.2012 04:52
Наклонение   69.482
Аргумент перигея   43.429
Период   102.47 мин.
Перигей x Апогей   310 x 1 442 км

NORAD    38081
COSPAR   2012-006E  
Эпоха (UTC)   14.02.2012 04:52
Наклонение   69.482
Аргумент перигея   43.361
Период   102.47 мин.
Перигей x Апогей   310 x 1 441 км

NORAD    38082
COSPAR   2012-006F  
Эпоха (UTC)   13.02.2012 20:20
Наклонение   69.483
Аргумент перигея   43.700
Период   102.47 мин.
Перигей x Апогей   310 x 1 442 км

NORAD    38083
COSPAR   2012-006G  
Эпоха (UTC)   13.02.2012 23:45
Наклонение   69.485
Аргумент перигея   43.629
Период   102.47 мин.
Перигей x Апогей   310 x 1 441 км

NORAD    38084
COSPAR   2012-006H  
Эпоха (UTC)   13.02.2012 22:02
Наклонение   69.484
Аргумент перигея   43.649
Период   102.47 мин.
Перигей x Апогей   310 x 1 442 км

NORAD    38085
COSPAR   2012-006J  
Эпоха (UTC)   13.02.2012 22:03
Наклонение   69.488
Аргумент перигея   43.606
Период   102.47 мин.
Перигей x Апогей   309 x 1 443 км

Сдается мне, что:
1. В раскладе не хватает LARES'а
2. Объект A в данном раскладе - ступень.

Спасибо.

ЦитироватьА каковы орбиты спутников то?

Цитироватьzarya.info @Zarya_Info Закрыть
LaReS - orbit data now available: zarya.info/Diaries/Launch... (http://www.zarya.info/Diaries/Launches/Launches.php?year=2012#006)
14 февраля 12 в 19:53

Появился десятый объект. Под него переписали 2012-006A, а бывший А (по всей вероятности - ступень) теперь стал К.

ЦитироватьNORAD    38077
COSPAR   2012-006A  
Эпоха (UTC)   14.02.2012 03:06
Наклонение   69.507
Аргумент перигея   45.850
Период   101.97 мин.
Перигей x Апогей   274 x 1 430 км

.........

Можно пожалуйста тле на эти все объекты? Я на Space-Track что-то не вижу их.

ЦитироватьМожно пожалуйста тле на эти все объекты? Я на Space-Track что-то не вижу их.

Отправил в лс.

ЦитироватьЯ на Space-Track что-то не вижу их.

https://www.space-track.org/perl/id_query.pl
Забиваешь в окошке номера от 38077 до 38086, столбиком.

А вот под что оставлен номер 38072 ?

Интересное ИМХО обсуждение ПВ-сата, причем преимущественно на русском

http://ursa-tm.ru/forum/index.php?/topic/21461-

Цитировать

ЦитироватьМожно пожалуйста тле на эти все объекты? Я на Space-Track что-то не вижу их.

Отправил в лс.

Спасибо!

Цитировать

ЦитироватьЯ на Space-Track что-то не вижу их.

https://www.space-track.org/perl/id_query.pl
Забиваешь в окошке номера от 38077 до 38086, столбиком.

Спасибо, буду знать.

А вот и рокеткамы подоспели :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X31QHj_zc8o

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/vega/vv01/onboard.html

VIDEO: On-board video of Vega's maiden flight

The Italian space agency, ASI, posted footage from several cameras mounted aboard the Vega launcher's first mission, which blasted off at 1000 GMT (5 a.m. EST) on Feb. 13 from Kourou, French Guiana.

The footage begins with an on-board downward-facing view of liftoff and separation of Vega's three solid-fueled rocket motors. Later in the video clip, you can see the rocket's payloads as they are deployed.

Video credit: ASI

Vega's final countdown and first liftoff (time-lapse)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ4M1-sUiRQ

Three launch pads at Europe's Spaceport

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/23202.jpg) (http://www.esa.int/images/_SC14019.jpg)

31 January 2012

Цитировать2012 will see three very different rockets lift off from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana: the heavy Ariane 5, the medium Soyuz and the latest addition, the new, small Vega.
 
This image shows, for the first time, all three launch pads on the same photo.

To the right is the Ariane 5 site, specifically built for the rocket. It can handle up to ten missions per year.

The Soyuz complex (in the background) is 13 km northwest of the Ariane 5 site. The first Soyuz from here lifted off on 21 October 2011. This was a historic event because it was the first time that a Soyuz had been launched from a spaceport other than Baikonur or Plesetsk.

To the left is the new Vega site, located at the previous launch complex originally used for Ariane 1 and Ariane 3 missions. The pad and infrastructure have been adapted for Vega and a new mobile gantry provides a protected environment to assemble and check the vehicle.

The launch window for Vega's inaugural flight opens on 9 February.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Vega/SEMBTMSXXXG_0.html

http://smsc.cnes.fr/ROBUSTA/Fr/GP_actualites.htm

Первый сигнал со спутника ROBUSTA был получен 16 февраля.

Судя по всему, МБО на "союзовском" старте надвинут на СК. МБО "Веги" в стороне от СК.

У Веги нет МБО.

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Education/SEM2KRGY50H_0.html

ЦитироватьCubeSats satellite operations update[/size]
 
28 March 2012
On 13 February, the new Vega rocket delivered seven ESA-sponsored CubeSats into low Earth orbit. Since then, ESA's Education Office has maintained frequent contacts with the student teams to follow the progress of their satellite operations.
 
For each team, this is the first hands-on experience of operating an orbiting satellite, and some of them have had to deal with some challenging difficulties.

e-st@r's signal has been received at the team's ground station in Italy, and by radio amateurs around the world. However, operations have been affected by unexpected tumbling of the CubeSat. Until it achieves attitude stabilisation, the team has placed e-st@r in power saving mode.

Communications with the Romanian Goliat have been intermittent, and the team is working to establish more regular contacts with the satellite. Telemetry from Goliat has been downloaded, and decoding of the satellite's transmissions was achieved during a single pass. The team is now working to establish two-way communications, in order to determine the status of Goliat's experiments and update the onboard software accordingly.

Masat-1 has been continuously and fully operational since its first passes over the ground station in Budapest, Hungary. Spacecraft data - which include beautiful images of the Earth as well as telemetry data - are regularly received and all systems are operating nominally. During the first weeks of flight, the team was able to monitor the performance of the CubeSat's electronics and sensors. The team will continue to collect data on the behaviour of all systems and demonstrate the satellite's active attitude control capability.  

(https://img.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/23644.jpg)
A photograph of Earth taken by Masat-1 showing Western Australia (12 March, 2012).
 
PW-Sat is operational and telemetry data are regularly received at the ground station in Warsaw, Poland. However, the satellite's power consumption is a little higher than expected, resulting in a slow power drain. Commands have been sent to increase the interval between the telemetry downlinks and to delay, until the power budget is corrected, the release of the deployable drag augmentation device. This device is meant to accelerate the satellite's deorbiting operations upon conclusion of the mission.

The French Robusta satellite emitted a weak signal at the beginning of the mission, but no further communication has been received. Investigations identified a fabrication defect which prevents the CubeSat's batteries from being charged. Although the team is disappointed by the failure, they are planning to use the experience built up with Robusta for the development of future picosatellites.
    
The Spanish XaTcobeo is sending back regular telemetry data to its ground station at University of Vigo, Spain, even though its operations are disturbed by unexpected tumbling. The spacecraft is nearing completion of its commissioning phase, with all systems performing well. The communications link is expected to improve once the spacecraft slows its spinning rate.

A weak signal was received at the beginning of the Italian UniCubeSat-GG mission by the team's ground stations in Rome and in Kentucky. However, the satellite seems to be tumbling very rapidly and re-establishing communications with it might turn out to be very difficult.[/size]

http://www.uk.amsat.org/7890

ЦитироватьMasat-1 captured the first Hungarian satellite photographs from space