Atmos Space Cargo successfully tests its space container
Atmos Space Cargo has tested a capsule that carries payloads into space and back to Earth. Despite some problems, the test was successful.
Artistic representation of the Phoenix Space Capsule in space
(Image: Atmos Space Cargo)
The Baden-WĂĽrttemberg space company Atmos Space Cargo has tested its Phoenix transportation system, which is designed to bring payloads into space and back to earth. The test was successful, even though the capsule has not yet been found.
The Phoenix Return Capsule was launched into space on board a Falcon 9 on Tuesday night. The US space company's launch vehicle lifted off from the Cape Canaveral launch site in the US state of Florida at 2:48 a.m. our time and deployed the capsule in a low Earth orbit (LEO).
However, SpaceX changed the flight path for the Bandwagon 3 collection mission: the plan was for Phoenix to splash down east of Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Accordingly, Atmos Space Cargo had also set up ground stations to receive data from Phoenix.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externes YouTube-Video (Google Ireland Limited) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (Google Ireland Limited) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
However, SpaceX changed the flight path so that Phoenix's entry point was over the coast of Brazil. This meant that the space container would wash up in the Atlantic about 2000 kilometers off the Brazilian coast.
The Atmos boss flew into the landing area
Sebastian Klaus, one of the four founders and head of the company, flew to the area in a small plane to observe Phoenix's descent to Earth. However, too many clouds in the sky prevented this. It is therefore unknown whether Phoenix returned to Earth safely.
In addition, it was not possible to download data from Phoenix. During re-entry, radio contact with a spacecraft was lost. The company was therefore missing data for a period of seven minutes. The data was supposed to be downloaded from the aircraft, but this was not possible.
Klaus nevertheless considered the mission a success: some flight data could already be analyzed. In addition, the scientific experiments on board Phoenix could be activated. “This is a huge step forward for Europe,” Klaus told the news magazine Der Spiegel. However, it will still take some time before all the data has been analyzed.
The Phoenix Return Capsule is a space container in which scientific experiments are launched into space and then return to Earth autonomously. Phoenix consists of a cylinder about one meter high made of a carbon fibre-reinforced composite material, in which several experiments are housed in special boxes. These can remain in space for between a few hours and three months and can be pressurized or unpressurized.
Phoenix has an inflatable heat shield
Phoenix does not have a conventional heat shield to prevent it from burning up when it enters the Earth's atmosphere. Instead, Atmos Space Cargo has developed an inflatable atmospheric decelerator system, the Inflatable Atmospheric Decelerator (IAD). This is a film that is inflated into a donut-shaped cushion. It also acts as a heat shield and slows Phoenix down during descent.
Only four experiments were on board during the test, including a radiation detector from the Institute of Space Medicine at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and a bioreactor from the British company Frontier Space. In later versions, there will be space for significantly more payload.
Videos by heise
In addition, the second Phoenix will already have its propulsion system so that Atmos can determine where it will land. Phoenix-2 is scheduled to fly next year and splash down in the Atlantic off the Azores.
(wpl)
