BAS Observer July 2017

JULY 2017 7 Cruithne Speed Kms 27.73 Old Irish Celtic For ancient Picts Wisdom crazy Asteroid quasi Horseshoe orbit Earth Sun’s hobbit Found 1986 Waldron’s pics At Coonabarabran In spacial Oz land. A MINOR PLANET By Eido AP Experimental solar wing jettisoned It would be nice to say that the new financial year kicked off with good news on the space exploration front, but sadly it was marked by two failures. First came the news that the Roll-Out Solar Wing (ROSA) sent to the International Space Station in June was jettisoned from the station’s robotic arm after engineers were unable to fully retract the array. Nevertheless, the initial (and novel) roll-out deployment technique of the wing was successful. ROSA is designed to help future spacecraft generate more electricity but still fit inside the fairings of existing rockets. If the technique proves successful, it could be used by NASA for solar-electric propelled interplanetary missions. Long March 5 rocket test failure The failure of the second flight of China’s Long March 5 rocket (nicknamed ‘Chubby 5’ for its huge size) has dealt a blow to the country’s space programme. Carrying an experimental communications satellite, the rocket lifted off successfully on 2nd July at 7.23 p.m. (Beijing time) from the Wenchang space launch centre on Hainan Island. Forty minutes later, however, the state-run Xinhua news agency declared the launch a failure, though no futher details were provided. China has announced plans to land a robotic probe on the far side of the Moon later this year and to reach Mars around 2020; however, these missions and a plan for a space station are very much dependent on the suc­ cess of the Long March 5. Investigators are currently looking into the cause of the failure. Spaceflight News Artist’s concept of a ROSA-equipped Asteroid Redirect Mission spacecraft. The Long March 5 lifts off from Hainan Island on 2nd July.