German startup Atmos Space Cargo considers its first mission with a device to re -enter the atmosphere successful, Even in spite of limited information about his behavior while returning to land.
21 In April, the company launched the Phoenix device as one of the payloads in the SpaceX Bandwagon-3 mission. About an hour and a half after launch, the vehicle separated from the launch vehicle, and will for 30 minutes began re -entrance to the atmosphere with a drive in the South Atlantic, about for 2 000 kilometers from the coast of Brazil.
The mission had three main goals: collecting data about the device itself in flight, transfer of information from scientific cargoes, and evaluation of the effectiveness of the inflatable heat shield during return.
All scientific cargo, in particular those, that were provided by commercial customers and German aerospace center (DLR), have been successfully activated and transmitted data. This stage is considered completely successful.
However, it is currently difficult to assess the effectiveness of the heat shield during atmospheric re-entry. Initially, the company planned to land in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, Not far from Reunion Island. Ships were involved in the mission to lift the device from the water and aircraft to monitor the phase of entry into the atmosphere.
However, five weeks before launching SpaceX reported a change of trajectory due to restrictions, related to the main cargo - South Korean Intelligence Satellite. This changed the subduction zone to the South Atlantic, which made it impossible to return the device and led to a more rapid entry into the atmosphere with greater mechanical loads.
ATMOS urgently provided new ground communication stations in South America, In order to maintain control of the apparatus at key stages. The company also charted a plane to collect data while entering the atmosphere, However, because of a considerable distance and cloudiness, visual materials failed.
The third purpose of the mission is now considered partially achieved. Previous data analysis shows, What is thermal security screen, likely, worked according to the plan, however, more detailed analysis is needed for definitive conclusions. In the last minutes of the flight, it was difficult to get telemetry due to the great distance of the device from the ground communication points.
The data collected during the mission will be the basis for developing the second Phoenix apparatus, The launch of which is scheduled for next year. Despite the limited information about the final phase of flight, the mission is generally assessed as very successful, as valuable information was obtained about the operation of other systems and general aspects of mission management.