SuomiKaataa2

Progress is currently Russian cargo spacecraft to International Space Station ( ISS ). Originally it was Soviet supply cargo to space station Mir .  Progress has similar size and shape as Soyuz spacecraft. It consists of 3 parts:  A pressurized module in the front, carrying scientific equipment, food, letters from home, clothes. A fuel compartment - the reentry module from Soyuz was replaced with an unpressurized propellant and refueling compartment.  A propulsion module. That remained unchanged.  There is no need for life support and heat shields, so the mas was reduced. After undocking, the spacecraft makes a retrofire and burns up in the atmosphere.  Version : Progress (1978-1990) or also Progress 7K-TG was Soviet unmanned spacecraft which was used to resupply space station in low orbit, including Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and Mir. It was the first version of the Progress spacecraft. This version was derived from the manned Soyuz 7K-T called also "...

MAGION spacecraft As a part of Interkosmos space program, small satellite called MAGION -1 was developed in the middle of seventieth by Czechoslovakia (currently kept by the Czech Republic). It was launched into the orbit as a part of Soviet unmanned mission Interkosmos-18 on October 24, 1978. The purpose of the mission was to investigate the magnetosphere (MAG) and ionosphere (ION). The satellite and the followers are designed to measure space plasma parameters by a satellite/subsatellite pair simultaneously not far from each other. MAGION 1 launched on October 24, 1978: weight 15kg and it worked for about 3 years.  MAGION 2   launched on September 28, 1989: weight 52 kg as a part of the Active spacecraft (Interkosmos-24).  MAGION 3   launched on December 18, 1991: weight 52 kg as a part of APEX spacecraft and was similar to MAGION 2.  The following two subsatellites were designed as a part of Interball project .  MAGION 4   launched ...

Soyuz rockets are with over 1700 flights since 1966, the most frequently used rocket in the world. After the end of the US Space Shuttle program in 2011, Soyuz rockets became the only possibility to transport astronauts to the ISS (International Space Station). The Soyuz rockets are used as the launcher for the manned Soyuz spacecraft, as well as to unmanned Progress supply cargo to the ISS, or earlier space stations Salyut, Mir. All Soyuz rockets use RP-1 (Rocket Propellant - 1, similar to jet fuel, used as a rocket fuel) and liquid oxygen propellant with the exception of the Soyuz-U2, which used Syntin (variant of RP-1, it has higher density, lower viscosity and higher specific heat of oxidation).   R-7 Semyorka: drawing Soyuz rockets are subset of R-7 family of rockets, derived from R-7 Semyorka developed during the Cold War as first intercontinental ballistic missile. It launched the first satellite Sputnik 1 into the low orbit in modified version. It became a basis f...

Lunokhod 1 was the first rover on the lunar surface landing on November 1970 (Luna 17, lifted by the rocket Proton-K) after the first unsuccessful mission Lunokhod 1A (0) in 1969. Rover was working for 11 month. Lunokhod was remote controlled robot. The rover worked during the lunar day, stopping for charging the batteries via the solar panels. Rover hibernated during the lunar night. The internal components were heated by radioisotope heater unit to keep operational temperature. The rover consisted of TV cameras, spectrometer, X-ray telescope, radiation detector, and extendable devices to get the lunar soil. The weight of the rover was 840 kg and was 135 cm high. Lunokhod 2 was the second Soviet unmanned lunar rover, which was taken by Luna 21 on the Moon in January 1973.  This mission was supposed to be followed by Lunokhod 3 in 1977, but the mission was cancelled. Chernobyl accident is very well known disaster in the history. It occurred on April 25-26, 198...

From the NASA update 24/05/2018 NASA is starting to run a campaign with a huge focus on commercial activity that can support science and space technology to bring us back to he Moon. NASA is planning to launch several robotic commercial delivery missions by the year 2019, ahead of a humans coming back to the Moon. These mission would bring instruments and technology to the lunar surface and prepare for human exploration. “We know there are volatiles at the poles on the Moon, and quite frankly, that water ice could represent rocket fuel,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “If we have the capability to generate rocket fuel from the surface of the Moon, and get them into orbit around the Moon, we could use that to build a fueling depot. If we want to make that happen though, we will need commercial partners." NASA wants to be sure that industry is heading the same direction to push the human exploration deeper into the solar system.  NASA will return to the Moon with co...

Apollo 12 solar wind data from Lunar surface Apollo program has huge impact on human beings. Humans for the first time reached the other world, touched the lunar surface. Astronauts had tasks to take samples of the lunar surface and take them back to the Earth. Among Apollo digging instruments were placed also scientific instruments. Apollo 12 project had a special meaning to me. And that is the exploration of the Solar wind . Astronauts set the instruments on the lunar surface and t he data are available in the CDAWeb (Coordinated Data Analysis Web: CDAWeb ), which is a public database from the current and past space physics missions. It is possible to download the original data, or ascii files, or plot the data in the way as I did.   Apollo 12 : 28 second resolution data on March 24, 1976 09 - 12 UT: Density 1/cm^3, Bulk SW speed km/s, V_thermal km/s (SW solar wind, UT universal time) The solar wind is a constant stream of plasma and charged particles from...

The Soyuz 7K-L1 Zond (see also unmanned lunar programs: Luna and Zond ) spacecraft was supposed to launch men to circle the Moon, not going to the lunar orbit, but circle it as a lunar flyby. That was part of the Space Race (see article The Space Race ). Design of Soyuz 7K-L1 was based on the Soyuz 7K-OK (see article Soyuz spacecraft first generation ).  The biggest difference was replaced orbital module by the support cone and parabolic antenna and reserve parachute. It was supposed to carry 2 cosmonauts. However, there were serious problems with the Proton rocket.   Zond: artist picture Zond 5 was an unmanned spaceflight launched in September 1968. It was the second craft to circle the Moon and the first one which returned safely to Earth and which had onboard two tortoises, mealworms, wine flies, plants and other lifeforms. It was launched by Proton-K with Block D upper stage to perform scientific goals during the lunar flyby. N1/L3 project was approved in F...