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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 1255.PDF
SPACEFLIGHT LAUNCH VEHICLES TIM FURNISS / LONDON Arianespace sets date for Ariane 5 ECA to fly again First stage engine will be redesigned following nozzle failure on launcher's maiden mission A dedicated qualification flight of the Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle has been scheduled for March 2004. This will follow a redesign of the Vulcain 2 first-stage engine after the failure of the nozzle on the maiden flight of the uprated Ariane 5 in December 2002, resulting in the loss of two communications satellites. Until the improved launch vehi cle, with uprated ESC-A upper stage, is requalified, commercial missions will use the basic Ariane 5G, which has flown 15 times with two total failures and two partial failures where the system did not place pay- loads into their correct orbits. The Ariane 5G is the only vehicle in Arianespace's inventory since the launch of the last Ariane 4 in 2002. The Ariane 5 ECA is expected to be approved for commercial opera tions after a second flight of the Vul cain 2 on the first newly designated Ariane 5ES model. The ES is an Ariane 5G with Vulcain 2 first-stage engine and restartable EPS upper stage. The European Space Agency- funded flight is due in September 2004, carrying ESA's first Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo carrier for the International Space Station. The timing of the first ECA com mercial mission will depend on the demonstration and ES flights. A new batch of Ariane 5G and ECA vehi cles will be ordered next month to cover launches from 2005. The additional 5Gs will ensure Arian espace does not have to rely on a sole booster for commercial services. Had the first ECA launch been successful, no further Ariane 5Gs would have been ordered. The fail ure has exposed the risk in Arian espace's plan to rely on a single booster type after development of an ECA-B was earlier cancelled. ORBITER CHANGES NASA and contractors are rec ommending changes to the design, inspection and process ing of Space Shuttle orbiters. These include improved bonding of thermal protection system tiles and reviewing the way wing leading-edge access panels are bolted on. Sealing around land ing-gear doors and design of panels near the flaperons will be reviewed. COSMONAUT CREW Russia is to select new members for its cosmonaut corps. Up to eight new recruits will be named later this month. They will include three to four pilots already work ing at the cosmonaut training centre, three engineers from Energia and one doctor from the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems. ATLAS V ENGINES Russia's Energomash will deliver six more RD-180 rocket engines for the Lockheed Martin Atlas V programme, after previous deliv eries of 16 engines for use on the Adas III, three of which have flown, and the first two Atlas Vs. BOOSTERS Eurockot plans June launch for Rokot/Briz Eurockot Launch Services is prepar ing a modified Russian Rokot boo ster with a restartable Briz M upper stage for a launch from Plesetsk, on 30 June carrying eight micro- and nano-satellites. The Rokot, on its first sun-synchronous mis sion, will use a standardised multi- satellite dispenser. A prime payload is the 66kg (1451b) Czech Micro Measurements of Satellite Acceleration spacecraft, to be deployed in an elliptical orbit. The other seven craft will be placed into sun-synchronous orbits, inclu ding the 51kg Canadian Space Agency Microvariability & Oscill ations of Stars satellite, the second prime payload. The secondary payloads include two Japanese student satellites and four craft from Canada's Nanosat- ellite Launch Systems, while a mock-up of a Russian Earth Monitor observation satellite will remain attached to the Briz upper stage. The Rokot booster is based on the Soviet SS-19 ballistic missile. Eurockot has a backlog of six launches, including Japan's Servis 1 satellite this year and the launch of CryoSat into polar orbit in 2004. SPACE MISSION China presses on despite SARS The SARS virus in China will not delay launch of the nation's first manned spaceflight later this year, according to space programme officials. Preparation of the Shen Zhou 5 spacecraft and its Long March 2F launcher are proceeding at China Aerospace and Technology near Beijing, aiming for their delivery to the Jiuquan launch site for a flight possibly timed to coincide with the country's 1 October national day celebrations. The spacecraft will likely be crewed by one Chinese astronaut, or "taikonauf. There are 14 taikonauts in training, including Li Qinglong and Wu Jie, who trained at the Russian Star City cosmonaut centre and are considered the favourites. SATELLITES Atlas V lifts Greek star into orbit International Launch Services (ILS) launched a Lockheed Martin Atlas V booster from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 13 May, carrying the Hellas-Sat communications satellite for the eponymous Greek-Cypriot consortium. The Astrium-built craft reached geosynchronous trans fer orbit 31 min later. It was the second launch of the Atlas V developed under the US Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle programme. The ILS launch of a Proton K/Breeze M booster from Baikonur on 20 May carrying the AMC-9 communications satellite has been delayed again to allow further inspection of the Breeze upper stage. The booster launch will now take place in June. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 27 MAY - 2 JUNE 2003 29
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