LARES;ALMASat 1; 7 CubeSat = Vega (VV1) - 13.02.12 14:00 ЛМВ

[Salo]

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

[Брабонт]

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

[Ярослав]

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

Украинские 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.

[Salo]

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

Vega 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.

[Salo]

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

Vega'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.



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

[Salo]

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

First Vega rocket assembled on launch pad[/size]
 

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.  


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.
 

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.
 
   
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]

[Salo]

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

[Salo]

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

Европейское 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]

[instml]

Про европейские пилотируемые корабли - тоже интересно :wink:

[Salo]

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

[Liss]

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

B0355/12 - 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

[ааа]

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

[Salo]

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

[instml]

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

МОСКВА, 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

[ааа]

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

Вот наш "Ларец":



А вот ихний LARES:

[Salo]

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

Vega'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]

[instml]

Italian satellite to help measure space-time warp

Scheduled 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/

[Salo]

Видео о кубосатах для Веги:

[Salo]

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

[Александр Ч.]

Vega 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