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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 0024.PDF
SPACEFLIGHT CREWED MISSION China plans first manned spaceflight Completion of the Shen Zhou 4 mission has cleared the way for China to attempt its first manned spaceflight later this year. The unmanned Shen Zhou 4 re-entry capsule landed on 5 January in snow-covered Inner Mongolia after a seven-day, 108-orbit mis sion launched from Jiuquan on 29 December The commander of Shen Zhou 5, which is expected to fly in the third quarter, has been named as Chen Long, one of 14 air force astronauts, or"taiko- nauts". It had been assumed the craft would have a crew of two, but Chen is described as having a "back-up pilot', rather than a co-pilot. The Shen Zhou 4 spacecraft was configured for a crewed flight and operated 52 experiments. The orbit of the manoeuvrable orbital module has been raised and the spacecraft is expected to remain in space on a science mission for six months before re-entering the atmosphere. Drills in back-up emergency landings were conducted during the mission, as well as a sea- based emergency rescue simulation. Astronaut crews also practised working inside the Shen Zhou 4 and performed emergency evacuation simula tions before the launch. China has spent $2.3 billion since 1992 on its manned space programme, which has included three previous orbital and recov ery flight tests. The mid-term plan is to establish a mini-space station, or "skylab", by docking two Shen Zhou craft together, as a step towards an independent space station. China also has plans for a lunar fly-by using the craft. The Shen Zhou consists of a service module, crew cabin and orbital module and resembles the Russian Soyuz. The Shen Zhou's Long March 2F booster has been upgraded to 99% design reliabil ity with redundant systems, malfunction diagnostics and a crew launch-escape rocket. LAUNCHERS TIM FURNISS / LONDON Ariane 5 ECA to try again but doubts over Rosetta Cooling problem identified in Vulcain exhaust nozzle, while 5G mission may miss window Arianespace hopes to fly the Ariane 5 ECA again within six months, after an inquiry board concluded the launcher's 11 December first flight failed due to a cooling problem in the exhaust nozzle of the uprated Vulcain 2 main engine. The launch provider will have a plan by 20 January to return the Ariane 5 ECA to service in the second half of 2003. Launch of the European Space Agency's Rosetta asteroid and comet explorer by a basic Ariane 5G is still in the balance, as the inquiry board requested an "exhaustive examina tion" of the flight behaviour of the Vulcain 1 engine nozzle on the baseline launcher. Verification work is under way, and Arianespace will make a decision on the launch this week. The Rosetta must fly by 31 January or it will miss its target opportunity. Failure of the improved Ariane S ECA on Flight 147 began with a leak in the Vulcain 2 nozzle's cooling cir cuit, followed by overheating and loss of nozzle integrity. This caused "a major imbalance in the thrust" of the cryogenic engine, leading to "a loss of control over the launcher's trajectory," the board says. The likely cause was a combina tion of fissures in the cooling tubes, which degraded the thermal condi- VULCAIN ENGINE DIFFERENCES Vulcain 1 length 3.073m Liquid hydrogen turbopump Divergent nozzle Liquid oxygen turbopump. 1,145 kN Specific impulse 430.7s FLIGHT Liquid oxygen turbopump Liquid hydrogen turbopump Divergent nozzle 1,349 kN Specific impulse 433s tion of the nozzle, and "non- exhaustive definition" of the loads to which the engine is subjected during flight. The board noted the flight loads would be difficult to simulate during ground tests. The board recommends mod ification of the Vulcain 2 nozzle, taking into account experience gained on 12 flights of the Vulcain 1. The cooling tubes, which form the structure of the Volvo Aero-supplied nozzle, are a different shape on the Vulcain 2, and the technology of the nozzle stiffeners also differs. The board also calls for research into possibilities for ground simulation of the actual loads observed during Flight 157. The quality of flight hardware should also be enhanced, and acceptance procedures made stricter, says the board. Meanwhile, the last Ariane 4 flight is set for 11 February and the next commercial Ariane 5G flight for 24 February. • Failure of a Proton K on 26 November during an Inter national Launch Service (ILS) mission was caused by excess propellant in the Block DM upper-stage engine. This caused overheating and an explosion during ignition of the stage's second burn, which in turn led the Astra IK satellite to separate in a low transfer orbit from which it could not recover, says a Russian inquiry board. SPACE SHUTTLE Security tight for Israeli astronaut Already-tight security at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, has been stepped up further for the planned 16 January launch of Space Shuttle Columbia on mission STS 107, carrying the first Israeli astronaut, payload specialist Ulan Ramon, an air force fighter pilot. The much-delayed human health and science mission will also be crewed by six NASA astro nauts working in the first Spacehab double module and operating the Freestar (Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling Science, Technology, Applications Research) external payload. Columbia will be equipped with an Extended Duration Orbiter fuel-cell system, mounted at the rear of the payload bay, enabling the craft to fly for 16 days. The much-delayed launch of the US Air Force's $224 million Coriolis satellite on a Titan II took place at Vandenberg AFB, California, on 5 January. The 800kg (1,7601b) space craft, built by Spectrum Astro and operating in a 830km (450nm) sun- synchronous orbit, will monitor ocean winds and solar storms. International Launch Services conducted the first commercial launch of the Russian Proton M/Breeze M booster from Baikonur on 30 December, carrying the Lockheed Martin-built Canadian Nimiq 2 communications satellite into geostationary transfer orbit. It followed the flight of a Russian national Proton K on 25 December, also from Baikonur, carrying three Glonass navigation satellites. 22 14-20 JANUARY 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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