Moonlight mission "Bereshit" - engineers at the SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) MCC solved problems

For two days there was no news of the status of the Bereshit mission. And now, after solving two problems that appeared in the Bereshit apparatus in the first days of its long journey to the Moon, the SpaceIL team continues to manage the systems onboard the Bereshit apparatus in a regular mode.

In continuation of this publication .

What were the problems with the Bereshit apparatus?
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First problem:



Sunlight apparatus position sensors of the sun (the sensors have been very sensitive to such "blinding"), which may affect the orientation of the apparatus in space.

Solution: software compensation was performed to process the data from the sensors and reduce their sensitivity; additional repeated checks of new data from the sensors of the device were made.

The second problem February 26, 2019 :



At the preparatory stage, before performing the second engine maneuver, the onboard computer of the Bereshit device unexpectedly rebooted, and the maneuver phase was automatically canceled. SpaceIL and IAI engineers began to analyze the situation.
On board, there was a problem that limited the maneuverability of the device.

To find and fix the problem, they had a space deadline of 1-2 days , if during this time it was possible to rectify the situation, it would not affect the estimated date of disembarkation of April 11, 2019.

The second maneuver with the inclusion of the engine apparatus had to be postponed until the problem was solved.

Solution February 28, 2019: SpaceIL and IAI engineers have eliminated the failure in the computer system of the Bereshit apparatus, now the Bereshit apparatus continues its mission to the Moon in normal mode.

If during the first maneuver, the engine was turned on for 30 seconds, now for the second maneuver on February 28, 2019 and to compensate for the loss of time due to a failure earlier, the main engine was activated for 4 minutes to reach an elliptical orbit with an apogee of 131,000 km .

Reports on the status of the mission "Bereshit" laid out here twitter Israel To The Moon team SpaceIL.

Moon Travel Report # 1
Moon Travel Report # 2
Moon Travel Report Probem
Moon Travel Report # 4

Here is how the data (telemetry and monitoring) is visually reflected, which are analyzed in the SpaceIL and IAI MCC of the Bereshit Apparatus:





The main premises of the MCC (comfortable and spacious), which is located in the Israeli city Yehud:



On the walls above, a picture is projected from the monitors:











The team of engineers is working together and under great pressure (this can be exhaled after solving a problem, but another 41 days ...), because a successful solution of current problems does not eliminate the possibility of new ones that will have to be solved in a shorter time in order for the machine to land. April 11, 2019 make a real date, not calculated.



But if you move a little further, it turns out that the observation deck on this bridge of the MCC is just like a hall in the theater, where the engineers are on stage, I hope that there is not often so much press (in the photo after the launch was captured) and the engineers are not under constant supervision work:



Unfortunately, this is their burden now - another 41 days 22 hours and 22 minutes is on duty and be ready to correct the situation. After all, the apparatus has a long way - the mission “Bereshit”, in case of success, will break a kind of record - the apparatus goes to the moon along the longest trajectory possible.

Another good news - NASA added the Beresheet device to its online simulator Eyes on the Solar System - eyes.nasa.gov/apps/orrery





Moreover, after this update of the “Eyes on the Solar System” simulator on February 27, 2019, I was sure that the engineers of SpaceIL and IAI solved the problem of rebooting the onboard computer of the device, they simply didn’t advertise it, but NASA already knew about it.