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June 22, 2005
Cosmos 1 Update
Check the Cosmos 1 Mission Blog for more info, but here it is in a nutshell. The Russians confirmed that their launch vehicle shut down early. They've had 3 low level signals from the craft, but no hard data telemetry. Space Command hasn't found it yet.
My conclusion given the available info - The spacecraft is in a very low level Earth orbit that is probably not very stable. If they can find the little spacecraft buzzing around the planet, they'll be able to track it and lock in on any signals it's transmitting. If they can establish communication, they may still be able to deploy the sails and even pull it up into a higher stable orbit. Unfortunately, once they deploy the sails, atmospheric drag could catch the spacecraft and destroy it. It all depends on exactly how low or high (depending on your perspective) the orbit actually is.
I'm rooting for the little machine, but I have to admit it doesn't look to good. All and all though, even if the mission is a failure, it's still a step forward for civilian space exploration. You have to fall off a bike once or twice to get good at riding one, ya know.
--Jason
Posted by JasonColeman at June 22, 2005 1:18 PM
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