The Official Space Flight Thread - The Space Station and Beyond

Cosimo · 15 Jan 2012 at 09:45

Fuzz said:
Website has been OcUK'd... Sigh..

Working again and it's just gone over the Baring Sea and heading towards Chile over the Pacific.

Fuzz · 15 Jan 2012 at 15:54

Narrowed down to last orbit..

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/phobos_grunt_reentry.html

update published around 19:00 Moscow Time (10 a.m. EST) narrowed the impact time to a period between 21:30 and 23:12 Moscow Time (12:30 p.m. - 3:12 p.m. EST).

Jokester · 15 Jan 2012 at 15:56

Any idea where that places it?

Cosimo · 15 Jan 2012 at 16:11

Jokester said:
Any idea where that places it?

They appear not to be saying at the moment:

MOSCOW: Russia's space agency called off all predictions of the likely crash site of its ill-fated Mars probe last night - only hours before the 13.5-tonne spacecraft was due to begin its fatal descent.

Roscosmos said on its website that fragments of the stranded Phobos-Grunt voyager would probably fall to Earth today between 1.36am and 9.24am (AEDT).

But it cancelled its weekend forecast of the debris splashing down in the Pacific off the western coast of Chile. Two earlier updates had the fragments falling into the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

"The operations support group is keeping continuous watch of the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft's descent from orbit," the brief Roscosmos statement said.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...ash-landing-site/story-e6frg6so-1226244868495

If anyone knows Russian then we should get some updates from here:

http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=18564

Fuzz · 15 Jan 2012 at 16:15

No one really sure yet..

Roscosmos said on its website that fragments of the stranded Phobos-Grunt voyager would probably fall to Earth on Sunday between 1436 GMT and 2224 GMT.

But it cancelled its Saturday forecast of the debris splashing down in the Pacific off the western coast of Chile. Two earlier updates had the fragments falling into the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

Fuzz · 15 Jan 2012 at 16:17

simulatorman said:
If anyone knows Russian then we should get some updates from here:

http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=18564

Google translate

The projected drop box residues of spacecraft "Phobos-Grunt" on Earth is determined by a time interval: 21 hours. 30 min. MSK - 23 hours. 12 min. Moscow on January 15. Possible drop zone is shown in the diagram.

Operational Group continues to maintain continuous control of the convergence of the orbit of the spacecraft "Phobos-Grunt."

Fuzz · 15 Jan 2012 at 16:44

Visual from Athens would be VERY low on the horizon to the West-South-West (basically West) in around 5 minutes time

Fuzz · 15 Jan 2012 at 17:24

Based on the latest data PhobosGrunt is coming down in the next 30 minutes.

Visible dawn pass of PhobosGrunt to occur over New Caledonia region in 10 mins 1726UT http://yfrog.com/mg7y0txj

Fuzz · 15 Jan 2012 at 17:43

Don't know Russian but many are guessing this is expected splashdown position..

Very conveniently in the middle of the Ocean Hmmm

Not like they are going to scare North Africans and half of Europe..

Cosimo · 15 Jan 2012 at 17:50

Fuzz said:
Very conveniently in the middle of the Ocean Hmmm

Not like they are going to scare North Africans and half of Europe..

I hope it's not further along that orbit line.

Fuzz · 15 Jan 2012 at 17:58

Too late by the looks of it...

US STRATCOM claiming PhobosGrunt already reentered and crashed in Pacific in last few minutes. Unconfirmed by Roscosmos.

Cosimo · 15 Jan 2012 at 18:04

Fuzz said:
Too late by the looks of it...

US STRATCOM claiming PhobosGrunt already reentered and crashed in Pacific in last few minutes. Unconfirmed by Roscosmos.

Looks like Roscosmos has been hit by a piece.

Cosimo · 15 Jan 2012 at 18:13

Russia’s Phobos-Grunt, whose mission to a Martian moon went astray before circling the Earth, has finally dropped into the Pacific Ocean, reports RIA Novosti news agency citing sources in Russia's Defense Ministry.

*The stray probe plunged into the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean at 17:45 GMT (21:45 Moscow time), says the press service of Russia’s Aerospace Defense Forces in the Defense Ministry.

http://rt.com/news/mars-land-probe-russian-841/

Cosimo · 15 Jan 2012 at 18:20

Translation from RIA Novosti:

MOSCOW, January 15 - RIA Novosti. Fragments of the station "Phobos-Grunt" fell into the Pacific, told RIA Novosti on Sunday, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry troops ASD Col. Alexei Zolotukhin

According to the main center of conditions in space exploration Space Command troops ASD, the point of falling fragments of the device" Phobos-Grunt "was held at the Pacific Ocean" - said Zolotukhin

He said that the wreckage of the machine down at 21.45 GMT.

According to the controls, the debris fell in 1250 kilometers to the west of the island of Wellington.

Cosimo · 15 Jan 2012 at 18:27

Confirmation now up in English:

Russian Phobos-Grunt Mars probe falls in Pacific Ocean

22:11 15/01/2012MOSCOW, January 15 (RIA Novosti) - Doomed Russian Phobos-Grunt Mars probe that's been stuck in Earth orbit for two months has crashed down in the Pacific Ocean on late Sunday.

"Phobos-Grunt fragments have crashed down in the Pacific Ocean," Russia's Defense Ministry official Alexei Zolotukhin told RIA Novosti, adding that the fragments fell in 1,250 kilometers to the west of the island of Wellington.

The spacecraft fell at about 21:45 on Sunday Moscow time [17:45 GMT].

As of 20.15 Sunday, the spacecraft was moving in the near-Earth orbit with an altitude that varied between 113.8 km at perigee and 133.2 km at apogee, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20120115/170769403.html

Fuzz · 15 Jan 2012 at 23:04

Everybody back pedalling now...

Phobos-Grunt - Novosti retracts earlier story, now says place and time not known, NOTE - other news agencies may simply have copied it!

Cosimo · 16 Jan 2012 at 07:55

Fuzz said:
Everybody back pedalling now...

We've not got much further on the news front:

A law enforcement source confirmed the report.

But a source in the space industry said citing ballisticians that the fragments fell in Brazil.

Russian space agency Roscosmos has so far not commented on the place and time of the fall.

A bit of a Russian soap opera.

Cosimo · 16 Jan 2012 at 14:04

Bits of it landed somewhere.

PermaBanned · 17 Jan 2012 at 23:14

So apparently it could have been a US radar station that (inadvertently) caused the loss of communication.

In some more cheery news, Grail A and B have new names - Ebb and Flow respectively

Cosimo · 18 Jan 2012 at 08:14

PermaBanned said:
In some more cheery news, Grail A and B have new names - Ebb and Flow respectively

By pupils from the Emily Dickinson Elementary School:

** The Official Space Flight Thread - The Space Station and Beyond **

The Official Space Flight Thread - The Space Station and Beyond