|
Related page:
Searching for details: The author of this page will appreciate comments, corrections and imagery related to the subject. Please contact Anatoly Zak. |
Preparing for flight: Events of 2008 By the beginning of 2008, the Phobos-Grunt project was in an active development stage, with engineering versions of scientific instruments and the main spacecraft bus being manufactured. Funding levels remained on track, however increased costs of some components and "snowballing" mission tasks, particularly the addition of the Chinese micro-satellite and a Finnish Mars lander, led to some cost overruns. (282) According to Lev Zeleniy, Director of the Space Research Institute, IKI, a funding adjustment was made to the Federal Space Program in March-April 2008 for a shortfall in the Phobos-Grunt project. (285) As of 2008, the price tug of the project was expected to reach 2.4 billion rubles until 2012 (299):
As of May 2008, NPO Lavochkin's documents showed that the following elements of the spacecraft had been manufactured:
Despite skepticism expressed privately by the participants in the project and by some outsiders, Russian space officials insisted Phobos-Grunt would fly in 2009. At a high-level agency meeting in January 2008, Director General of NPO Lavochkin Georgy Poleshyuk one more time confirmed that the spacecraft is set for launch in 2009. "We haven't have any discussions (about delaying the mission)," Poleshyuk told RussianSpaceWeb.com in May 2008, "Work proceeds strictly on schedule." According to Poleshyuk, the flight version of the spacecraft bus has to be ready by January 2009, so that in February 2009 the installation of scientific instruments and the final assembly of the vehicle could begin. IKI had committed to the delivery of instruments by the end of 2008 - beginning of 2009. The spacecraft has to be shipped to Baikonur for pre-launch processing by August 2009. Challenges to the launch schedule The head of Lavochkin Georgy Poleshyuk has identified the integration of the Chinese micro-satellite, the development of the ground control tracking complex and the development of scientific payloads as the most critical aspects of work for achieving a launch on time. (283) Unofficial sources familiar with the project also described serious problems with the development of the spacecraft's onboard flight control system, BKU, and its operating software. The system's memory reportedly lacked capacity and required parameters for memory access could not be achieved. During 2008, the work on complex avionics, which would control the spacecraft and its vast array of scientific instruments, reportedly lagged behind schedule and its hardware did not meet the project specifications and reliability. The valves controlling the propellant lines repeatedly failed during tests, a source said. Thermal control and electrical compatibility of various systems apparently presented a challenge as well. As with many other projects, the situation was also hampered by the exodus of qualified specialists from the industry and from educational institutions supplying new cadre in the field of automated control systems. If history is any guide, it might be very late in the game, when it becomes clear that a postponement to 2011 will be necessary. The previous ill-fated mission to the Red Planet -- Mars-96 -- was originally scheduled for launch at the end of 1994. However by April 1994, all of the participants learned that it had to be delayed to 1996. (284) The mission ultimately failed during launch in 1996. On Oct. 29, 2008, NPO Lavochkin published an official press-release stating that the development of the spacecraft had continued on schedule. Working and operational documentation had been finalized and autonomous tests of key elements of the spacecraft had been completedm, the statement said. According to Lavochkin, the testing of the spacecraft's systems has being continuing at the the integrated onboard systems stand. In the meantime, the assembly of a mockup for vivibration and static tests has entered a final stage and the system assembly of the flight version of the spacecraft has been going on, Lavochkin said. Cooperation on ExoMars During 2007, reports surfaced about the possibility of using Phobos-Grunt to relay telemetry from the European ExoMars rover, which was expected to land on the surface of Mars. The idea apparently involved installation of a European relay system onboard Phobos-Grunt. However, the plan was met with sceptism on both sides, since Phobos-Grunt was expected to fly in 2009-2011 and ExoMars in 2013. Few believed that Phobos-Grunt would be still alive, by the time of ExoMars' scheduled landing attempt on the surface of the Red Planet in July 2015. In addition, Phobos was not the best spot for a relay station. Nevertheless, on June 24, 2008, Russian space agency, Roskosmos, announced that during a meeting in Paris on the Russian-EU cooperation in space, two sides agreed to use the communications payload onboard Phobos-Grunt, "taking into the account the possiblity of upgrades of the Phobos-Grunt communications systems for the purpose of the ExoMars mission support." In return, the European Space Agency, ESA, agreed to provide its ground control network for telemetry, tracking and flight control needs of the Phobos-Grunt mission, Roskosmos said. ESA also helped to plan the Phobos-Grunt mission by snapping high-resolution images of the potential landing sites on Phobos. On July 23, 2008, the agency's Mars Express passed as close as 97 kilometers from the moon, achieving the most detailed images of its battered surface to date.
Page author: Anatoly Zak; Last update: October 31, 2008 Last edit: June 27, 2008 All rights reserved |
PICTURE GALLERY
The propellant tank assembly of the cruise stage in the Phobos-Grunt project. Click to enlarge Copyright © 2008 RussianSpaceWeb.com via NPO Lavochkin
The propellant tank assembly of the return rocket in the Phobos-Grunt project. Click to enlarge Copyright © 2008 RussianSpaceWeb.com via NPO Lavochkin
Landing gear of the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft. Copyright © 2008 RussianSpaceWeb.com via NPO Lavochkin |
|
