image from www.tesis.lebedev.ru
Sun observer likely dead
Published 18 January, 2010, 16:52
The Russian scientific satellite Coronas-Foton has failed to go back fully online during maximum illumination orbits. Scientists are almost certain that its mission cannot be resumed.
It was hoped that Coronas-Foton, which had to be shut down due to power battery problems, would again become functional in January thanks to increased power output from its solar panels, which should have benefited from the satellite’s increased illumination by the Sun.
On January 18 out every 95 minutes it took the sat to make a full orbit around the earth, it stayed in the shadow for only about 22.5 minutes. Now this orbital period has passed, and the illumination intervals are becoming shorter.
Engineers have but a shadow of hope that Coronas will spring back to life in April, when the movement of the earth around the sun will illuminate the satellite’s entire orbit. However, they say by that time its alignment may change due to atmospheric drag and other factors, and its electronic equipment may be irrevocably damaged without heating.
Coronas-Foton is Russia’s only purely scientific satellite. It is used to study solar activity. It fell short of its planned three-year mission, having spent only about a year in orbit.
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