Cosmos 1

Cosmos 1 was a project of the Planetary Society and shall check the suitability of a space drive through awning. The rocket carrying the satellite crashed on 21 June 2005.

Financing

The 4 million dollar project has been fully funded privately. Principal contractor for the development of 100kg satellite was the Russian space company NPO Lavochkin. The private organizations Cosmos Studios and the Planetary Society, which was founded by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman, have launched and promoted the project to life. Of the estimated cost of the cosmic sail experiments the American Planetary Society took only $ 2.5 million.

Planned Mission History

The start should be made with a Volna rocket, a converted submarine -based intercontinental missile of the type R - 29rl The planned orbital altitude of the orbit was 800 km. After a few days after the start of the solar panels had opened, expected the scientists involved to be able to use the momentum transfer through the sunlight to the height of the orbit to increase targeted. After a mission time of about one month, the existing coated Mylar awning should resolve by the UV radiation.

Start and crash

Originally the launch was scheduled for the end of 2001, but was delayed several times until 21 June 2005. Volna was fired from the Russian submarine Borisoglebsk, which was submerged in the Barents Sea. It was the first attempt to reach a Volna orbit, the three previous flights were suborbital.

Shortly after the launch on 21 June 2005 at 21:46 CEST reported the ground control in Moscow, to be able to make contact with the probe more. On 22 June 2005 it was announced by Russian sources that the first stage of the rocket has shut off 83 seconds after the start. It is assumed that thereupon the further steps of the first stage did not separate and down went the entire rocket with a payload about six minutes after the start in the ocean.

Having the Planetary Society first made, however, information brief contact on Kamchatka right after the start and possible contacts with two other ground stations to the satellite had. It was therefore suspected that Cosmos is one enters an unscheduled orbit, which is why the ground stations its signal could not correctly received. The American military searched the space for the satellite and amateur astronomers were asked to help.

Shortly after this call, told a spokeswoman for the Russian company NPO Lavochkin with constructors on 24 June 2005 that the probe had not been resolved by the rocket and had fallen with her on the ground. Later, the signal received by the ground stations signals turned out to be misinterpretations, so now finally considered a failure of the first stage of the rocket as a cause of error.

Future

After the loss of Cosmos 1, the Planetary Society was planning a follow-on mission Cosmos 2, which should be launched as a secondary payload on a Soyuz / Fregat flight. The Kosmos- 3M and U.S. launch vehicles were considered. Meanwhile, the project has been renamed to Light Sail.