[UPDATE] Lightsail successfully deployed solar sail
June 7, 2015 at 22:51 on the second attempt, the solar sail of the experimental satellite Lightsail was discovered. The satellite was launched on May 20 with 10 other cubesat satellites and was supposed to open the sail in the second half of June. But a week later, the satellite “hung up” because of a software error , it was not possible to remotely restart and after 8 days it restarted itself. It was decided to deploy the solar battery ahead of schedule. Solar panels have been opened.
But on June 5, the satellite again "disappeared", the last telemetry showed that the satellite is not charging batteries. One of the versions explained this by an orbit in the shadow of the Earth, which did not allow the batteries to charge.
The management team attempted to reset the satellite several times, and on June 6, the satellite executed the command. The battery charge did not allow the motor to be turned on to deploy the sail, it was not clear whether the batteries were working properly. A few hours later, telemetry showed that the batteries were charged, all systems were working. The opening of the sail was scheduled for 21:00 Moscow time on June 7.
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How does the opening of the solar sail shows this video.
4 bars, like a measuring tape, 4 meters long each, are put forward, and the sail is pulled out - four triangles from a thin (4.5 micron) film.
At the scheduled time a command was sent to turn on the motor. But telemetry showed that the motor did not work. The next satellite flight was about an hour later, but the situation was more complicated. the satellite was visible low above the horizon, which weakened the radio signal and reduced the chances of successful radio contact. This was the last attempt for the next 8-9 hours. After this turn, blind turns began when the satellite was not in the reception area of the two ground stations. But lucky - telemetry showed the work of the motor.
A camera is installed on one of the solar panels, which should confirm the opening of the sail. While there is no image, the satellite is expected to return to the reception area of ground stations in 8.5 hours.
This Lightsail satellite is a test flight in which the solutions applied are tested and will be used in the satellite launched in 2016. The satellite is a 3-Unit CubeSat i. its size is 10 x 10 x 30 cm. Its square sail has an area of 32 square meters. It is expected that the reflection of the sail may be visible to the naked eye at sunset and sunrise. The management team encourages astrophotographers to try to remove the satellite’s span, thereby confirming the successful opening of the sail.
As before, they are asking for amateur radio and all photos, radio data sent to lightsail@planetary.org.
To observe the reflection of the satellite's sail, you need to know the time and conditions of observation, for calculating which you can use the Orbitron program with TLE Lightsail , or use the N2YO service (you must create an account to access the settings). Programs will show the direction and angle at which the satellite will be observed. The best moments to observe after sunset or before sunrise, when the observer is in the shadow, and the satellite is illuminated by the sun.
PS Another software failure - images received from two satellite cameras are not decoded.
The rest of the state of the satellite systems is good.
Partially managed to download the image of one of the satellite cameras:
PPS June 13, 2015 Lightsail - everything.
The photo below was received on June 9 at 21:26 Moscow time. The photo is a fully open sail.
The opening of the sail actively slows down the satellite and, according to calculations, it will leave the orbit on Sunday, June 14, or on Monday, June 15.
The management group could not get an image from the opposite camera, the resulting files are not decrypted. And later there was another software failure. This time the satellite did not shut up, but transmits a constant signal that does not contain any data.
June 14 1:20, 2:50, 4:25, 6:00, 7:37, 9:16 he will fly over the European part of the Russian Federation and you can try to hear his signal on R4UAB SAT WEBSDR . The management team "as usual" sent commands to reboot, but "as usual" did not work.
In the video below, the Lightsail is observed with a laser rangefinder in Crimea on June 7, before the sail opens.
June 14, 21:23 Moscow time satellite descended from orbit . But on June 15, at 4:39 in Moscow, a weak signal was received that could belong to LightSail.
Probably the sail came off, allowing the satellite to make a few more turns.
At the end of 2016, LightSail-B will be launched into a higher orbit, where a convergence with the Prox 1 satellite will be performed, and then it will demonstrate the ability to move on a "solar burden" ...
But on June 5, the satellite again "disappeared", the last telemetry showed that the satellite is not charging batteries. One of the versions explained this by an orbit in the shadow of the Earth, which did not allow the batteries to charge.
The management team attempted to reset the satellite several times, and on June 6, the satellite executed the command. The battery charge did not allow the motor to be turned on to deploy the sail, it was not clear whether the batteries were working properly. A few hours later, telemetry showed that the batteries were charged, all systems were working. The opening of the sail was scheduled for 21:00 Moscow time on June 7.
')
How does the opening of the solar sail shows this video.
4 bars, like a measuring tape, 4 meters long each, are put forward, and the sail is pulled out - four triangles from a thin (4.5 micron) film.
At the scheduled time a command was sent to turn on the motor. But telemetry showed that the motor did not work. The next satellite flight was about an hour later, but the situation was more complicated. the satellite was visible low above the horizon, which weakened the radio signal and reduced the chances of successful radio contact. This was the last attempt for the next 8-9 hours. After this turn, blind turns began when the satellite was not in the reception area of the two ground stations. But lucky - telemetry showed the work of the motor.
A camera is installed on one of the solar panels, which should confirm the opening of the sail. While there is no image, the satellite is expected to return to the reception area of ground stations in 8.5 hours.
This Lightsail satellite is a test flight in which the solutions applied are tested and will be used in the satellite launched in 2016. The satellite is a 3-Unit CubeSat i. its size is 10 x 10 x 30 cm. Its square sail has an area of 32 square meters. It is expected that the reflection of the sail may be visible to the naked eye at sunset and sunrise. The management team encourages astrophotographers to try to remove the satellite’s span, thereby confirming the successful opening of the sail.
As before, they are asking for amateur radio and all photos, radio data sent to lightsail@planetary.org.
To observe the reflection of the satellite's sail, you need to know the time and conditions of observation, for calculating which you can use the Orbitron program with TLE Lightsail , or use the N2YO service (you must create an account to access the settings). Programs will show the direction and angle at which the satellite will be observed. The best moments to observe after sunset or before sunrise, when the observer is in the shadow, and the satellite is illuminated by the sun.
PS Another software failure - images received from two satellite cameras are not decoded.
The rest of the state of the satellite systems is good.
Partially managed to download the image of one of the satellite cameras:
PPS June 13, 2015 Lightsail - everything.
The photo below was received on June 9 at 21:26 Moscow time. The photo is a fully open sail.
The opening of the sail actively slows down the satellite and, according to calculations, it will leave the orbit on Sunday, June 14, or on Monday, June 15.
The management group could not get an image from the opposite camera, the resulting files are not decrypted. And later there was another software failure. This time the satellite did not shut up, but transmits a constant signal that does not contain any data.
June 14 1:20, 2:50, 4:25, 6:00, 7:37, 9:16 he will fly over the European part of the Russian Federation and you can try to hear his signal on R4UAB SAT WEBSDR . The management team "as usual" sent commands to reboot, but "as usual" did not work.
In the video below, the Lightsail is observed with a laser rangefinder in Crimea on June 7, before the sail opens.
This video shows up on the sky on June 7, 2015 at 00:20:32 UTC prior to solar sail deployment. The bright beam was used for laser ranging (no echoes were returned from LightSail). Details: EVS VNC-753-H2 CCD camera, 12cm refractor (FOV is 36'x27 '). SLR station Katzively-1893, 44.3932 ° N, 33.9701 ° E, 68.7 m.
June 14, 21:23 Moscow time satellite descended from orbit . But on June 15, at 4:39 in Moscow, a weak signal was received that could belong to LightSail.
Probably the sail came off, allowing the satellite to make a few more turns.
At the end of 2016, LightSail-B will be launched into a higher orbit, where a convergence with the Prox 1 satellite will be performed, and then it will demonstrate the ability to move on a "solar burden" ...
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/367319/
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