Arianespace used, with the Russian, a Soyuz ST-A rocket to launch a civilian satellite of images of Earth and the army for the UAE armed forces from the Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana.
The Falcon Eye 2 satellite took off at 20:33:28 EST on Tuesday, December 1 (01:33:28 UTC on Wednesday, December 2) and the satellite reached the correct synchronous orbit in the sun.
The launch is lately in a coastal era before a final burning of the Fregat-M level puts the Falcon Eye 2 in its final orbit 58 minutes after takeoff at 21:32:13 EST (02:32:13 UTC).
The project was originally to be presented on a Vega rocket, as did its predecessor, Falcon Eye 1, in July 2019. This project ended 14 moments after the moment level was ignited when the Vega rocket suffered the first of its two date problems.
Shortly after the separation of the first and moment levels of the launcher’s forged thruster, the front dome of the Z23 engine (moment level) suffered a “thermostructural failure” that caused a “violent event” that “caused the launcher to break. “- a technical way of saying that the thermal coverage formula at the most sensitive level of the Z23 failed, causing rocket destruction and payload.
After the failure, the UaE Armed Forces (UAE) called for falcon eye 2 launch to be replaced by a Fregat-M top-level Soyuz rocket to free it in Vega and allow for smoother, faster operation. launch, theme to Vega’s recoil program.
The launch was rescheduled for February 20, 2020 before moving to March 5. On that day, crews discovered a challenge with “one of the small liquid propulsion engines” in Soyuz’s Fregat-M upper tier that it checks on launch day. that the challenge was an oxidant leak.
– Arianespace (@Arianespace) 29 November 2020
Initially delayed for a “day,” the challenge temporarily postponed launch until April 10, a few hours after its discovery, because the entire Fregat-M terrain had to be replaced, the level itself returned to Russia.
Initially, Russia proposed software for the problem, but Arianespace, the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates and France (French organizations own just over 64% of Arianespace) chose to update the scene.
With the accumulation of COVID-19 cases, the French government has introduced public conditioning measures and closures, all non-essential paintings stopped in the country, adding its overseas departments to which French Guiana is a part.
With the center of the area closed, the project was postponed to an initial target in mid-September if COVID-19 restrictions allow it.
On May 30, an alarm in the Fregat-M upper ground garage alerted personnel to a possible leak of highly poisonous nitrogen tetroxide. A team sent from Russia; it is not known whether the alarm is true or false.
A few days later, the flight was postponed until October 17.
At the end of September, a new challenge was discovered with the upper ground of Fregat-M and the liberation was postponed until 3 November, which was postponed until “end of November”.
An attempted release for Saturday, November 28, local time, on the runway, with soyuz rolling on the runway on Tuesday, November 24, before a release readiness review authorizes the mission to take off.
This attempt was interrupted a few hours before take-off, with indications that the delay was due to weather conditions. The release was temporarily restarted by Sunday, November 29, at exactly 20:33:28 EST. – in T-7 minutes.
One attempt the next day was cleared just two minutes before takeoff, when telemetry may not be well gained from the rocket at the launch site.
The Soyuz ST-A rocket is a key Soyuz 2. 1a launcher that has undergone several European modifications, including, but not all, combustion chamber pyrotechnics, a European payload adapter and a European flight termination system.
The Soyuz ST-A includes a central Blok-A level (called level 2 via Arianespace), increased through 4 side-mounted liquid fuel impellers (called Stage 1 via Arianespace). These floors provide all the thrust for the first take-off component.
A Blok-I level (level 3 to Arianespace) is at the most sensitive level of the central level. The top floor of the Fregat-M and the payload tower are enclosed in the payload fairing.
The engine ignition series will start in T-16 seconds, when European pyrotechnic rates will be activated within 32 combustion chambers: 20 in total for the five main engines plus 12 vernier (direction) engines, all of which will have to be turned on to remove.
After the ignition procedure begins, the 32 combustion chambers will reach the initial thrust grades of T-14 seconds, when the critical ignition confirmation procedure will occur in the internal chamber.
Once confirmed, the LINES of the RP-1 Kerosene Thruster will open, resulting in total combustion and in all chambers from T-4 seconds. Full thrust will be reached in T-1 second.
At takeoff, soyuz ST-A will conduct a pitching and rolling program to line up for a flight west of the north, placing the payload in its planned heliosynchronous orbit.
Flight occasions are as follows:
Falcon Eye 2, will launch into a heliosynchronous orbit with an average altitude of 611 km. With a mass of 1190 kg, earth’s military-civilian joint satellite and reconnaissance was originally designed to paint in conjunction with Falcon Eye 1 and carries the same high-resolution imaging system, capable of solving 70 cm elements in a 20 km field. from a point of view.
A network of floor stations will participate in the initial commissioning of the satellite and serve as a downlink relay for its planned five-year mission, which will be controlled through Emirati’s operations.
The satellite will play a dual role: offering the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates and obtaining advertising photographs for sale.
Based on the next generation French Earth Pleiades imaging satellite, Falcon Eye 2 built through Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space, Airbus Defence and Space is to blame for the overall design of the satellite, while Thales Alenia Space provided payload and optical instruments.
Main image: A Soyuz on the launch pad of the Guyana Space Center Credits: Arianespace
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