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Suborbital
Solar Sail Demonstration Test Unsuccessful
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The Borisoglebsk, a Kalmar class
submarine (Delta-3 NATO classification) located in the Barents
Sea, launched Cosmos 1 into a sub-orbital trajectory at 0033 UTC
(5:33 p.m. PDT July 19) on July 20. The 40 kg (88 lbm) testbed
craft did not separate from the capsule and the two triangular
blades of its solar sail did not deploy.
The Solar Sail
test program planned two launches. This first launch was to test
the paddle opening mechanism for a two-panel sail. (Cosmos-2 will
fly with an 8-panel sail). The
deployed Cosmos-1 sails were to burn up in the atmosphere.
Two cameras were to film 30 minutes of video of the opening of the
super-thin film fabric. A reentry vehicle carrying the film landed
on the Kamchatka peninsula. Scientists will examine the craft and
recordings made by cameras mounted on the rocket in an attempt to
determine the cause of the problem.
During the
opening, inflatable flexible tubes made of a self-hardening
material were to pull the triangular pieces of the solar sail from
a container. The panels provide the capability to turn, enabling
the spacecraft to maneuver.
The spacecraft is
sponsored by the Planetary Society, Pasadena. It was manufactured
by the Babakin Research Center, a division of the Lavochkin
Association in Khimki. The Lavochkin Center plans to push ahead
with tests and it is expected that the project’s financial
backers will remain committed to the project. The Planetary
Society has provided US$2.5 million for the development of the
Cosmos-1 and the Cosmos-2 spacecraft.
This
was the first space-related (sub-orbital) launch of the Volna,
which is a converted RSM-50 naval ballistic missile, developed by
the Makeyev Design Board in Miass.
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