4 ms·

ExoMars launch scheduled for 09:31 GMT (10:31 CET)

68 points by jpatokal 11y ago

manaskarekar 11y ago
Is there an alternate link, perhaps youtube? Livestream never seems to work for me.
- flxn 11y ago
  I can't find a video of the programme that was on the livestream. There is a short video of the launch on ESA's youtube channel but the quality is horrible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhriETwPf10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhriETwPf10
  - martiuk 11y ago
    Roscosmos' video is of a much better quality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r7qqK5E7fU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r7qqK5E7fU
- Integer 11y ago
  HD Launch Video from Roscosmos: https://youtu.be/2r7qqK5E7fU https://youtu.be/2r7qqK5E7fU Long HD of entire event: https://youtu.be/T7q-ek7DDhI https://youtu.be/T7q-ek7DDhI
creshal 11y ago
Launch successful so far: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/ExoMars_launch_updates http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/ExoM... Half of the recent Proton losses have been from third stage failures (worked here), the other half of the Briz-M upper stage (still needs to do a few more burns).
- thatsthree 11y ago
  Half is 1, I presume?
  - InclinedPlane 11y ago
    It's actually more like 5 out of the last nine failures, going back 10 years.
  - creshal 11y ago
    • 2015, 935-54: Third stage failure • 2014, 935-45: Third stage failure • 2013, 935-43: First stage failure • 2012, 935-34: Briz-M failure • 2012, 935-31: Briz-M failure • 2011, 935-21: Briz-M failure • 2010, 535-37: Blok-D failure 3/6 in the Proton-M+Briz-M configuration, 3/7 total, for this decade. There were also two failed Rokot launches involving a different Briz configuration (Briz-KM).
    - rodionos 11y ago
      Here's the full list of 97 launches for Proton M series. Failures, 9 in total, denoted with red border or green background: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BA_%D0%BF%D1%83%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2_%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B5%D1%82-%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D0%9C_%288%D0%9A82%D0%9A%D0%9C%29 https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BE...
capote 11y ago
Can anyone tell me why 9:31 and not 9:30?
- JesseObrien 11y ago
  I'm not a rocket scientist, but I would say likely that's when the launch window opened, or it was inside the window to be able to get the craft on the right trajectory to Mars. Launch windows take into account where the target's orbit is (in this case Mars) and where Earth is inside that window. In this case, the launch window was likely quite large due to Mars' orbit being quite a distance from Earth (and quite stable) which leaves quite a bit of time for correction burns in case the rocket is off course at all. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launch_window https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launch_window
  - Sharlin 11y ago
    There are two timescales in play here. The first relevant thing is indeed the orbital position of Mars in relation to Earth. For simple Hohmann transfers, launch windows to Mars open every 26 months or so, and they last several days. In this case, ExoMars launch could have been delayed until March 25 had any issues prevented the launch today. The second timescale has to do with Earth's rotation. Even though most interplanetary spacecraft, including the ExoMars probe, are launched into a temporary parking orbit before injection to transplanetary trajectory, that orbit needs to have the right shape and inclination to make the injection burn feasible from the fuel economy point of view. Orbital plane changes are particularly expensive. Thus, the daily launch window may only last a minute or so when the launch site intersects the plane of the ecliptic.
anthk 11y ago
Funny how I female friend is working there. I envy you, in a good way :)
kristianp 11y ago
From [1], "The primary goal of the ExoMars programme is to address the question of whether life has ever existed on Mars. ". Really? Why is so much money spent, seemingly on just that goal? It seems such a waste to search for life on Mars when it's so unlikely. Sure finding signs of past life would be a great discovery, but it seems unlikely after the number of missions that have gone already. Surely there are better goals for a mission. If you're really searching for tiny signs of life in a nook or layer of dirt, wouldn't you have to send 100s of thousands of probes, not just one additional lander? Rant ends. Sorry. [1] http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/What_is_ExoMars http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/What...

68 points by jpatokal 11y ago

manaskarekar 11y ago

Is there an alternate link, perhaps youtube? Livestream never seems to work for me.

flxn 11y ago
I can't find a video of the programme that was on the livestream. There is a short video of the launch on ESA's youtube channel but the quality is horrible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhriETwPf10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhriETwPf10
- martiuk 11y ago
  Roscosmos' video is of a much better quality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r7qqK5E7fU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r7qqK5E7fU
Integer 11y ago
HD Launch Video from Roscosmos: https://youtu.be/2r7qqK5E7fU https://youtu.be/2r7qqK5E7fU Long HD of entire event: https://youtu.be/T7q-ek7DDhI https://youtu.be/T7q-ek7DDhI

creshal 11y ago

Launch successful so far: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/ExoMars_launch_updates http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/ExoM... Half of the recent Proton losses have been from third stage failures (worked here), the other half of the Briz-M upper stage (still needs to do a few more burns).

thatsthree 11y ago
Half is 1, I presume?
- InclinedPlane 11y ago
  It's actually more like 5 out of the last nine failures, going back 10 years.
- creshal 11y ago
  • 2015, 935-54: Third stage failure • 2014, 935-45: Third stage failure • 2013, 935-43: First stage failure • 2012, 935-34: Briz-M failure • 2012, 935-31: Briz-M failure • 2011, 935-21: Briz-M failure • 2010, 535-37: Blok-D failure 3/6 in the Proton-M+Briz-M configuration, 3/7 total, for this decade. There were also two failed Rokot launches involving a different Briz configuration (Briz-KM).
  - rodionos 11y ago
    Here's the full list of 97 launches for Proton M series. Failures, 9 in total, denoted with red border or green background: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BA_%D0%BF%D1%83%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2_%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B5%D1%82-%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D0%9C_%288%D0%9A82%D0%9A%D0%9C%29 https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BE...

capote 11y ago

Can anyone tell me why 9:31 and not 9:30?

JesseObrien 11y ago
I'm not a rocket scientist, but I would say likely that's when the launch window opened, or it was inside the window to be able to get the craft on the right trajectory to Mars. Launch windows take into account where the target's orbit is (in this case Mars) and where Earth is inside that window. In this case, the launch window was likely quite large due to Mars' orbit being quite a distance from Earth (and quite stable) which leaves quite a bit of time for correction burns in case the rocket is off course at all. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launch_window https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launch_window
- Sharlin 11y ago
  There are two timescales in play here. The first relevant thing is indeed the orbital position of Mars in relation to Earth. For simple Hohmann transfers, launch windows to Mars open every 26 months or so, and they last several days. In this case, ExoMars launch could have been delayed until March 25 had any issues prevented the launch today. The second timescale has to do with Earth's rotation. Even though most interplanetary spacecraft, including the ExoMars probe, are launched into a temporary parking orbit before injection to transplanetary trajectory, that orbit needs to have the right shape and inclination to make the injection burn feasible from the fuel economy point of view. Orbital plane changes are particularly expensive. Thus, the daily launch window may only last a minute or so when the launch site intersects the plane of the ecliptic.

anthk 11y ago

Funny how I female friend is working there. I envy you, in a good way :)

kristianp 11y ago

From [1], "The primary goal of the ExoMars programme is to address the question of whether life has ever existed on Mars. ". Really? Why is so much money spent, seemingly on just that goal? It seems such a waste to search for life on Mars when it's so unlikely. Sure finding signs of past life would be a great discovery, but it seems unlikely after the number of missions that have gone already. Surely there are better goals for a mission. If you're really searching for tiny signs of life in a nook or layer of dirt, wouldn't you have to send 100s of thousands of probes, not just one additional lander? Rant ends. Sorry. [1] http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/What_is_ExoMars http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars/What...