|
|
| Status reports from Baikonur |
| All times are in CEST (UT + 2 hours)
Wednesday 9 August 15:20 "The team are very happy!" said Alberto Gianolio from Baikonur. "The injection went as expected,
the solar aspect angle is nominal and all units are on the prime chain - no switchovers were required. There has been nothing unexpected, telemetry is being received and
commands sent to the spacecraft." The Baikonur team are now on the move, and reporting continues from
ESA's Operations Centre in Darmstadt, from where the 4 Clusters are controlled.
|
| Date: 09 Aug 2000 |
|
|
| Universal praise for successful launch of second Cluster pair |
| Two successful launches in less than a month. That is the proud record of the European Space Agency's Cluster programme and the Soyuz-Fregat launch vehicle provided by the French-Russian Starsem consortium after today's blast-off from Baikonur Cosmodrome.
"I am very proud to let you know that all four satellites are now in orbit," said Professor Roger Bonnet, ESA Director of Science. "The launch today was absolutely nominal. After so many years of expectations, ESA has kept its promises to the scientists." |
| Date: 09 Aug 2000 |
|
|
| Soyuz/Cluster rollout to launch pad completed |
| Following the successful completion of the Launch Readiness Review and of the Transfer Readiness Review on 5 August, the go-ahead for the final launch preparations was given by the Russian State Commission on the evening of the same day.
|
| Date: 06 Aug 2000 |
|
|
| Cluster Project Manager looks back to a perfect launch |
| Two weeks after the first pair of Cluster spacecraft lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome,
Project Manager John Ellwood looked back contentedly on the successful completion
of the first act in this two-part launch drama. |
| Date: 01 Aug 2000 |
|
|
| Second Cluster launch will complete the space quartet |
| N0 51-2000 - Paris, 31 July 2000
After the successful launch of the first two Cluster satellites Salsa and Samba - on 16 July,
followed by a perfect insertion into their operational orbits, scientists around the world are eagerly
awaiting the launch of the second Cluster pair from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. |
| Date: 01 Aug 2000 |
|
|
| Global involvement in Europe's Cluster Mission |
| The Cluster mission to explore the magnetosphere has a genuine
international flavour, in more ways than one.
|
| Date: 26 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| Amateur astronomers capture Salsa and Samba dancing in the sky |
| Two amateur astronomers from the Starkenburg observatory in Heppenheim,
near Darmstadt in Germany, have succeeded in photographing the first two
Cluster satellites, Salsa and Samba, during their daily dance around the
Earth. |
| Date: 25 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| Salsa and Samba in perfect step |
| After one of the most complex series of manoeuvres ever carried out by
Earth-orbiting spacecraft, the first Cluster pair have successfully reached
their final elliptical orbit. Salsa (FM 6) and Samba (FM 7) are now dancing
in step between 16 869 km (perigee) and 121 098 km (apogee) above the
Earth.
|
| Date: 21 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| Cluster pair prepare for higher things |
| Things are looking up for the first pair of Cluster spacecraft as they
gradually move further and further from the Earth.
So far, the spacecraft have successfully completed three of the four main
engine burns required to raise the apogee (highest point) of their orbits.
|
| Date: 19 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| Status reports from Baikonur/ESOC (first launch) |
| Status reports from ESOC, ESA's operations centre in Darmstadt (D).
The Cluster team have left Baikonur and reporting continues from the control
room at ESOC. All times are in Central European Summer Time (CEST).
Wednesday, 26 July at 9:30 CEST
ASPOC + CIS cover opening
The covers have been successfully opened on the CIS and ASPOC experiments on both Salsa and
Samba. In addition, electric verifications have been performed on ASPOC and an
upload of tables on CIS. The instruments are now switched off again, waiting the start
of commissioning 10 days after the second launch.
|
| Date: 18 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| First Cluster apogee burn completed |
| The long, complex process required to elongate the orbits of the first two
Cluster spacecraft has begun.
The Cluster mission control centre at the European Space Operations Centre
(ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, has confirmed that the apogee raising manoeuvre #1
was completed successfully early this afternoon.
|
| Date: 17 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| A perfect launch for the first Cluster pair |
| At 18.39 local time (14.39 CEST) today, the steppes of Kazakhstan reverberated with the roar of
rocket engines as a Soyuz-Fregat launch vehicle lifted off from pad 6 at Baikonur Cosmodrome
with its precious payload of two Cluster satellites.
"We have lift off!" came the confirmation on the public address system.
|
| Date: 16 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| Lift off for first pair of Cluster II spacecraft |
| ESA Press Release N0 49-2000 - Paris, 16 July 2000
The European Space Agency's Cluster II mission to explore the magnetosphere is now under way
after today's successful launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
|
| Date: 16 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| Rumba, Salsa, Samba, Tango prepare to dance In space! |
| The winner of ESA's "Name The Cluster Quartet" competition was announced yesterday, during a
special media event at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany.
|
| Date: 16 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| Cluster launch postponement |
| Update 16 July 10:50 The State Commission has given the final go-ahead for launch today.
The launch of the first pair of ESA's Cluster II spacecraft has been postponed due to an anomaly
detected between the ground system and the Soyuz launch vehicle. A State Commission, the
official body that authorises the launch, was convened to validate the source of the problem and
confirmed that both the Cluster II spacecraft and the Soyuz launch, including the Fregat
upper stage, are in nominal configuration.
The launch is rescheduled to take place tomorrow, 16 July, at 12:39 GMT (14:39 CEST).
The launch will as usual be confirmed by a State Commission which will meet 4 hours before liftoff.
|
| Date: 15 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| Cluster news update |
10.00 CEST
Last night, highly energetic particles from one of the largest solar flares on record struck
the Earth's magnetosphere and triggered an intense radiation storm in the vicinity of
Earth.
|
| Date: 15 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| European Space Operations Centre briefed on Cluster status |
| Over 100 members of staff gathered in the conference room at the European
Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, this afternoon to
hear the latest status reports on the readiness of the Cluster ground
segment.
|
| Date: 14 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| Cluster camera to catch spacecraft separation |
| One interesting addition to the Cluster spacecraft's payload of 11 state-of-the-art scientific instruments is a digital camera known as the Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC).
|
| Date: 13 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| Russian State Commission clears Cluster for countdown |
| The launch of the first pair of Cluster II spacecraft was given the final go-ahead on 11 July in a series
of reviews to assess the readiness status of all components.
|
| Date: 12 Jul 2000 |
|
|
| PR 46-2000: Countdown for the Cluster Quartet |
| Only a few days remain before the start of the European Space Agency's Cluster II mission,
a unique expedition to explore the magnetosphere and revolutionise our understanding of
the interaction between the Sun and Earth. |
| Date: 03 Jul 2000 |
|
|
