[meteorite-list] First MARSIS Boom Successfully Deployed on Mars Express

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed May 11 12:25:37 2005
Message-ID: <200505111625.j4BGP2617937_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMY3R5TI8E_index_0.html

First MARSIS boom successfully deployed
European Space Agency
11 May 2005

Thanks to a manoeuvre performed on 10 May 2005 at 20:20 CET, ESA flight
controllers have successfully completed the deployment of the first boom
of the MARSIS radar on board ESA's Mars Express spacecraft.
 
After the start of the deployment of the first 20-metre boom on 4 May,
analysis by flight controllers at ESA's European Space Operations
Centre, Darmstadt, Germany, had shown that although 12 out of the 13
boom segments were in place, one of the outermost segments, possibly No.
10, had deployed but was not locked into position.

Deployment of the second (20 m) and third (7 m) booms was suspended
pending a full analysis and assessment of the situation.

As prolonged storage in the cold conditions of outer space could affect
the fibreglass and Kevlar material of the boom, the mission team decided
to "slews (or swing) the 680 kg spacecraft so that the Sun would heat
the cold side of the boom. It was hoped that as the cold side expanded
in the heat, it would force the unlocked segment into place.

After an hour, Mars Express was pointed back to Earth, and contact
re-established at 04:50 CET on 11 May. A detailed analysis of the data
received showed that all segments had successfully locked and Boom 1 was
fully deployed.
 
The operations to deploy the remaining two booms could be resumed in a
few weeks, after a thorough analysis and investigation of the Boom 1
deployment characteristics.

The Mars Express Sub-Surface Sounding Radar Altimeter (MARSIS)
experiment is to map the Martian sub-surface structure to a depth of a
few kilometres. The instrument's 40-metre long antenna booms will send
low frequency radio waves towards the planet, which will be reflected
from any surface they encounter.
 
MARSIS is one of the seven science experiments carried on board Mars
Express, one of the most successful missions ever flown to the Red
Planet. Mars Express was launched on 2 June 2003 and entered Mars orbit
in December 2003.
Received on Wed 11 May 2005 12:25:01 PM PDT