An audience gathered as close as they could to the KSC the other day as the tenth probe in the Celestia program left Kerbin to further our understanding of the Mun. The mission of the probe was to land on our nearest neighbour, conduct science and then leave the surface. This was the first time that a vehicle had landed and then left the Mun. But it didn't stay off of the ground for long.
After a successful landing, Celestia X spent a few days monitoring the Mun's conditions. The probe had found itself in a small crater on the edge of Mare Lucem (Sea of Light).
Celestia X's location on the Mun
The probe itself was almost an exact copy of Celestia IX, except for additional thermometers for more accurate temperature readings and, for the first time, a barometer. The equipment revealed an average temperature of -63C on the Mun, although the journey there revealed a low of -202C. There was no measurable atmosphere detected.
Celestia X's first glimpse of the crater wall in Mare Lucem
In addition, Celestia X carried an extra rocket stage for descent to the Mun so that it would have enough fuel remaining for it's primary goal - the lifting trials. Celestia X was planned to lift and land back on the Mun three times, testing a different feat on each occasion. The first was to simply lift from the surface by ten meters and land again. This was a success. The second lift test was to climb to ten meters and remain in a hover for ten seconds. This was also successful.
The first lifting trial is shown in these sequenced images
The final test was the most challenging and, as it turned out, fatal. The probe would lift off, drift across the surface and land again. But something went wrong.
'We needed to yaw the vehicle around during the third lift,' said Gene Kerman earlier today. 'To do that, we had to deactivate the autopilot that was keeping the craft in a vertical attitude. What we didn't do before that was cancel the transverse thrusters while we performed this correction. With the autopilot off and thrusters still firing, the craft just flipped over. A few seconds later, transmissions from the craft ceased.'
When asked whether another attempt would be made with the next probe, Gene said:
'Well, this was a partial success. Can we look at each other and say "yeah, we've done enough here to move on"? I'm not sure at this time. It's still under consideration. What we do know is had we not turned off the autopilot, we'd still have a functioning craft up there. The craft would have landed and all elements of the mission would be a success. But it didn't happen like that.'
An artist illustrates the possible last moments of Celestia X
Celestia X was planned on operating for a while yet to continue collecting data. The lifting tests were kept back a few days for just this reason. So it's data collection is complete. In additon, Celestia IX is still operating and gathering data anyway. But whether KSP will launch another vehicle to have another go at the lifting trials remains to be seen.
No comments:
Post a Comment