The outgoing year 2013 for the world cosmonautics will be remembered for the launches of the Chinese lunar rover, the Indian Mars probe and the first satellite of South Korea. In addition, the first flight to the ISS of the American private cargo vehicle Cygnus ("Swan") became a landmark event. It is difficult to call the year successful for the Russian cosmonautics. He was remembered for the next emergency launches - we are talking about Zenit and Proton-M missiles. The result of these accidents was the resignation of the head of Roscosmos Vladimir Popovkin, he was replaced in this post by Oleg Ostapenko, who previously held the post of Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia for Science. It was also announced that the reform of Roskosmos was carried out, in particular, a decree was signed on the creation in Russia of the URSC - the United Rocket and Space Corporation. The first manned launch on the ISS, which was carried out according to a "short" six-hour scheme, can be called a positive event for the Russian cosmonautics.
Roscosmos reform and new head of the agency
Oleg Ostapenko, who was appointed to this post in October 2013, replaced Vladimir Popovkin, who headed Roscosmos since October 2011. After the appointment of Ostapenko, the deputy head of the agency, Alexander Lopatin, the first deputy head of Roscosmos, Oleg Frolov, and Anna Vedishcheva, who served as Popovkin's press secretary, left Roscosmos. In addition, according to media reports, the new head of Roscosmos dismissed Nikolai Vaganov, who served as deputy director of the Center for the Operation of Ground and Space Infrastructure (TSENKI).
The new head of Roscosmos Oleg Ostapenko
Oleg Ostapenko chose Igor Komarov as his deputy, who had previously served as president of AvtoVAZ. It is reported that in the future, Igor Komarov may head the URCS. The order on the creation of the URCS was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in early December 2013. The announced reform presupposes the formation of the United Rocket and Space Corporation; it is planned to create it on the basis of the OJSC Scientific Research Institute of Space Instrumentation. It is assumed that the new corporation will include all the enterprises of the space industry, while the organizations of the ground infrastructure and branch scientific institutes will remain in the structure of Roscosmos. In addition, Roskosmos will retain the status of a state customer in the rocket and space industry. Before the formation of the URKK, the state will have to bring the block of shares in JSC NII KP to 100%. After that, according to the presidential decree, the shares of space enterprises will be transferred to the authorized capital of the URSC, some of which will first need to be transformed into a joint-stock company. All these transformations take 2 years.
The first flight of cosmonauts to the ISS, carried out according to the "short" scheme
On March 29, 2013, the first flight to the International Space Station was carried out according to the "short" scheme. The flight was completed 6 hours before, until that moment all manned Soyuz flew to the ISS according to a two-day scheme. Prior to this, the "short circuit" was successfully worked out during the flights to the ISS of the cargo spacecraft "Progress". At present, all launches of astronauts to the ISS are carried out according to the "short" scheme.
Such a scheme for the delivery of astronauts has its advantages. The cosmonauts themselves note that the implementation of the "short" flight scheme does not allow the cosmonauts on board the Soyuz TMA spacecraft to immediately feel weightlessness; this is an advantage of the launch, since it provides a greater level of physical comfort for the cosmonauts. An even more obvious advantage is the reduction in the time of delivery to the station of various scientific objects, for example, various biological products, which is very important for scientists and science in general.
Olympic flame traveled to space
For the first time in history, the Olympic torch traveled to space. The symbol of the Olympics, which was not lit for safety's sake, was brought aboard the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz TMA-11M manned spacecraft. This spacecraft delivered to the station the Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, the Japanese astronaut Koichi Vikatu and the NASA astronaut Richard Mastracchio. It was the Russian cosmonaut who brought the torch aboard the ISS. A kind of Olympic torch relay took place inside the station, the torch was carried through all the ISS interior by its crew. Later, Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryazantsev and Oleg Kotov carried the torch into open space for the first time, where they held a kind of relay stage, passing the symbol of the Olympics to each other and filming the process on a video camera. Oleg Kotov, in particular, greeted the inhabitants of the Earth, waving a torch, and noting that an excellent view of our planet opens up from space.
Another space accident
On February 1, 2013, an accident ended with the launch of the Zenit-3SL launch vehicle with the Intelsat-27 satellite on board. The launch was carried out as part of the Sea Launch program. The launch vehicle and satellite fell in the Pacific Ocean. The cause of the accident was the failure of the on-board power source, which is produced in Ukraine. A much greater resonance in our country was caused by the unsuccessful launch of the Proton-M carrier rocket with three Glonass-M navigation satellites on board. The launch was broadcast live on Russian federal channels. On July 2, 2013, the Proton-M rocket fell on the territory of the Baikonur cosmodrome - already at the very first minute of the launch. Roscosmos has set up a special commission to investigate the accident.
As a result of the investigation, the members of the commission found that the cause of the accident of the Proton-M rocket was the abnormal operation of three of the six angular velocity sensors at once. The production of these sensors is carried out by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Research and Production Center for Automation and Instrumentation named after Academician Pilyugin", while the sensors were installed on the "Proton-M" directly at the Center. Khrunicheva (rocket manufacturer). According to the information of the emergency commission, those angular velocity sensors that worked incorrectly passed all tests immediately before launch without fixing any comments. After this accident, a film and photo documentation system was introduced at all enterprises of the rocket and space industry in Russia, which should track all assembly processes of products. Organizational conclusions were also made. Alexander Kobzar, deputy general director for quality of the Khrunichev center, Mikhail Lebedev, head of the technical control department, and Valery Grekov, head of the final assembly department, have lost their posts.
Cygnus made the first flight to the ISS
On September 18, 2013, the Cygnus cargo spacecraft, created by the American company Orbital Sciences, was successfully launched into space from the Wallops cosmodrome and headed to the ISS. Cygnus is the second US-built commercial cargo spacecraft to fly to the ISS. NASA Television broadcast the launch live. The Cygnus cargo spacecraft delivered about 700 kg of various cargoes to the ISS, including water, food, clothing and other useful materials. In its first flight, the cargo ship took on board only 1/3 of its maximum carrying capacity. The "Swan" was docked to the station for about a month, after which the ship was loaded with garbage and undocked from the station, after a while it entered the dense layers of the earth's atmosphere and burned up.
Cygnus cargo spaceship
Currently, NASA has already signed a contract with Orbital Sciences for a total of $ 1.9 billion. In accordance with this agreement, it is planned to carry out 8 flights of the Cygnus spacecraft to the ISS by the end of 2016. It is planned that during this time about 10 tons of various payloads will be delivered to the ISS.
Manned spaceships of private companies
Currently in the United States, the space agency is implementing a program under which private companies can propose their own projects for the delivery of astronauts into orbit. The first manned launch is expected to take place in 2017. This program involves the creation of ships for the delivery and return of astronauts to Earth (to low-earth orbit and back), as well as the development of a new generation of rockets. Currently, Sierra Nevada, SpaceX and Boeing are developing their own manned spacecraft under this program.
South Korea launches its first satellite into space
In 2013, South Korea joined the space powers and became the 13th country in the world that managed to launch an artificial Earth satellite into space from its territory. The Republic of Korea has a space constellation of several dozen satellites, but all of them were launched into space using foreign launch vehicles. On January 30, 2013, the KSLV-1 rocket was launched, the rocket was launched from the territory of the Naro space center, which is located 485 km south of the Korean capital.
The launch would not have taken place without Russian help. Back in 2004, South Korea and Russia signed a contract for the development of a light-class KSLV-1 launch vehicle. On the Russian side, the project was implemented by the Center. Khrunichev (development of the complex as a whole), NPO Energomash (creator and manufacturers of first-stage engines), as well as the Transport Engineering Design Bureau (creation of a ground-based complex). From the Korean side, the Korean Aerospace Research Institute - KARI participated in the project.
China launched its first moon rover
In early December 2013, China sent its first lunar rover "Yuytu" (Jade Hare) to the Moon. The moon rover got its name in honor of the mythological hare that belonged to the goddess Chang'e (goddess of the moon). The launch of the lunar rover in China was a national event, with China Central Television broadcasting the launch live. The launch was carried out from the Sichan cosmodrome, located in the southeastern part of the PRC at about 1:30 local time (21:30, December 1 Moscow time). The tasks of the Chinese lunar rover, which can move on the Moon at a speed of up to 200 m / h, include researching the geological structure of various substances and the surface of the Earth's natural satellite. According to plans, the lunar rover will operate on the moon for 3 months. On December 14, 2013, the Jade Hare successfully landed in the vicinity of the Rainbow Bay crater, in 30 minutes the rover left the lander and started work.
Chinese moon rover "Jade Hare"
India launches its first probe to Mars
The PSLV-C25 launch vehicle, which carried India's first Mars exploration probe, successfully launched from the Sriharikot launch site on November 5, 2013. The research module "Mangalyan" contains a number of scientific instruments: a pressure analyzer, a probe for detecting methane, a spectrometer and a color camera. 43 minutes after launch, the Martian probe separated from the rocket and entered Earth's orbit. On November 30, 2013, he began his long journey to the red planet. According to the Indian Space Research Organization, having covered hundreds of millions of kilometers, the Indian probe will reach Mars, tentatively this will happen in September 2014. In September, the probe should enter the Martian elliptical orbit with the nearest point located at an altitude of 500 km from the surface. The scientific probe weighs 1350 kg, and its estimated cost is $ 24 million.
The main goal of this mission to Mars is to test the technologies needed to "design, control, plan and conduct interplanetary missions," as well as exploring Mars, its atmosphere, mineralogy, searching for traces of methane and signs of life. The mission pursues both scientific and technological goals. One of the objectives of this program is to demonstrate to the world that the Indian space program is on the rise and does not lag behind global trends. The active service life of the Martian probe will be from 6 to 10 months.
Mars One project: one-way flight
Mars One is a private project, led by Bas Lansdorp, which involves a flight to Mars, followed by the establishment of a colony on the planet's surface and broadcasting everything that happens on TV. This project was supported by the Nobel laureate in physics (1999) Gerard Hooft. According to the project leader, this will be one of the largest events in the history of mankind. We are talking about the largest media event, which is much more important than the landing of a man on the moon or the Olympic Games.
Mars One Base Project
The Mars One project, which invites everyone to make an irrevocable expedition to Mars, is gaining momentum. Currently, we have finished accepting online applications from potential colonizers of Mars. In total, more than 200 thousand people from 140 countries of the world fired up this idea. Most applications from those wishing to take part in the project came from residents of the United States (24%) and India (10%), the number of applications from Russia was 4%. Now the Mars One project team will have to select the lucky ones who will qualify for the 2nd round of the program. Earlier, the non-profit organization Mars One has already announced that it is going to send a team of 4 people to the red planet by 2023; by 2033, 20 people should already live in an earthly colony on Mars. The first colonists will have to live in a settlement, which will be built by robots, the return of crews to Earth is not expected.
By July 2015, the organizers of this program plan to select 24 candidates who for the next 7 years will prepare for the upcoming flight in teams of 4 people. It is assumed that the first expedition to Mars will cost $ 6 billion, the next one will cost $ 4 billion each. The organizers expect to finance the work of the program through the sale of television rights to broadcast this very unusual "reality show", which will begin already at the stage of selecting participants for the flight to Mars.
The first manned spacecraft in the history of mankind, which will send the participants of the Mars One project to Mars, will probably be developed by the European company Thales Alenia Space. To put the manned spacecraft into orbit, it is planned to use the Falcon Heavy carrier rocket, which is currently being created by the American company SpaceX.
