Philosophy
See, there is life after shuttles.
Russian scientists are jubilant at news that the Spektr-R, a powerful space telescope conceived in the depths of the cold war, was finally lofted into orbit aboard a Zenit rocket Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Once it is fully operational, the new radio telescope will sync up with ground-based observatories to form the biggest telescope ever built. It will be known as RadioAstron, with a "dish" spanning 30 times the Earth's diameter. Experts say it will be able to deliver images from the remote corners of the universe at 10,000 times the resolution of the US Hubble Space Telescope.
"We've been waiting for this day for such a long time," says Nikolai Podorvanyuk, a researcher at the official Institute of Astronomy in Moscow.
"It's been planned since the 1980s, but has repeatedly fallen through for a variety of reasons. But now it's here, and we're bracing for all the new information it's going to deliver, especially about black holes," he says.
The space-based component is actually a small radio telescope, with a 10-meter dish that's far smaller than Earth-based radio telescopes, planted in an elliptical orbit about 340,000 kilometers (more than 212,000 miles) from Earth. But when its signals are combined with those of ground-based radio telescopes through a process known as interferometry, it effectively becomes one single telescope with a "dish" as large as the distance between its components, which will be able to deliver unprecedented pictures of mysterious cosmic phenomenon, such as quasars, pulsars, and supernovae.
According to its co-designer, Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev, one of RadioAstron's key objectives will be to seek out the truth about black holes, which are intense concentrations of matter thought to exist in the centers of most galaxies with gravity so powerful they even swallow up light signals.
"Building this telescope was Academician Kardashev's idea," to enable us to actually see what's happening around the edges of black holes, says Vladimir Fortov, director of the official Institute of Thermophysics in Moscow.
"This is going to open up a whole new era in astronomy and astrophysics," he says. "It's a huge contribution to world science. Russia has held advanced positions traditionally, and this is a logical next step for our space program. It's just great."
Scientists from more than 20 countries will participate in RadioAstron's five-year mission, according to the Russian Space Agency.
Russia's space program fell on hard times after the collapse of the USSR 20 years ago, and even a few years ago appeared to be little more than a "space taxi" to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
But with increased funding and improving morale, Russian space scientists now have a variety of ambitious projects on the agenda. They include a manned mission to Mars by 2030, a space plane to rival the US X-37B, and a nuclear-powered spacepod that could gobble up space junk like an orbiting Pac-Man.
Despite some very serious recent setbacks, Russia's answer to the US Global Positioning System (GPS) navigational network, Glonass, is slated to be fully operational by the end of this year. In November, Russia will finally launch its long-awaited Phobos-Grunt probe, which aims to bring home a soil sample from the Martian moon Phobos.
And with the end of the US space shuttle program, even Russia's traditional space niche of powerful rocket launchers and venerable Soyuz space vehicles is set to become the only game in town.
"Russia is returning to scientific programs in space after a long break," Vladimir Popovkin, chief of the Russian space agency Roskosmos, was quoted as saying by the official Itar-TASS agency Monday.
But despite all this good news, some space experts strike a cautionary note.
"The old problems of Russian space industries are still with us: low productivity and lack of technical discipline," says independent expert Andrei Ionin. "There could be lots of problems in future.
"Still, this is a great moment. Our people can raise their heads and be proud," he adds.
Spektr-R [Wikipedia]
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Philosophy
Spektr-R...Russian space telescope
See, there is life after shuttles.
"Russian telescope launch pulls national space program out of black hole"
The Spektr-R, a space telescope that was put in orbit Monday, is just one of the ways the Russian space program is getting back on track.
by
Fred Weir
July 19th, 2011
The Christian Science Monitor
The Spektr-R, a space telescope that was put in orbit Monday, is just one of the ways the Russian space program is getting back on track.
by
Fred Weir
July 19th, 2011
The Christian Science Monitor
Russian scientists are jubilant at news that the Spektr-R, a powerful space telescope conceived in the depths of the cold war, was finally lofted into orbit aboard a Zenit rocket Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Once it is fully operational, the new radio telescope will sync up with ground-based observatories to form the biggest telescope ever built. It will be known as RadioAstron, with a "dish" spanning 30 times the Earth's diameter. Experts say it will be able to deliver images from the remote corners of the universe at 10,000 times the resolution of the US Hubble Space Telescope.
"We've been waiting for this day for such a long time," says Nikolai Podorvanyuk, a researcher at the official Institute of Astronomy in Moscow.
"It's been planned since the 1980s, but has repeatedly fallen through for a variety of reasons. But now it's here, and we're bracing for all the new information it's going to deliver, especially about black holes," he says.
The space-based component is actually a small radio telescope, with a 10-meter dish that's far smaller than Earth-based radio telescopes, planted in an elliptical orbit about 340,000 kilometers (more than 212,000 miles) from Earth. But when its signals are combined with those of ground-based radio telescopes through a process known as interferometry, it effectively becomes one single telescope with a "dish" as large as the distance between its components, which will be able to deliver unprecedented pictures of mysterious cosmic phenomenon, such as quasars, pulsars, and supernovae.
According to its co-designer, Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev, one of RadioAstron's key objectives will be to seek out the truth about black holes, which are intense concentrations of matter thought to exist in the centers of most galaxies with gravity so powerful they even swallow up light signals.
"Building this telescope was Academician Kardashev's idea," to enable us to actually see what's happening around the edges of black holes, says Vladimir Fortov, director of the official Institute of Thermophysics in Moscow.
"This is going to open up a whole new era in astronomy and astrophysics," he says. "It's a huge contribution to world science. Russia has held advanced positions traditionally, and this is a logical next step for our space program. It's just great."
Scientists from more than 20 countries will participate in RadioAstron's five-year mission, according to the Russian Space Agency.
Russia's space program fell on hard times after the collapse of the USSR 20 years ago, and even a few years ago appeared to be little more than a "space taxi" to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
But with increased funding and improving morale, Russian space scientists now have a variety of ambitious projects on the agenda. They include a manned mission to Mars by 2030, a space plane to rival the US X-37B, and a nuclear-powered spacepod that could gobble up space junk like an orbiting Pac-Man.
Despite some very serious recent setbacks, Russia's answer to the US Global Positioning System (GPS) navigational network, Glonass, is slated to be fully operational by the end of this year. In November, Russia will finally launch its long-awaited Phobos-Grunt probe, which aims to bring home a soil sample from the Martian moon Phobos.
And with the end of the US space shuttle program, even Russia's traditional space niche of powerful rocket launchers and venerable Soyuz space vehicles is set to become the only game in town.
"Russia is returning to scientific programs in space after a long break," Vladimir Popovkin, chief of the Russian space agency Roskosmos, was quoted as saying by the official Itar-TASS agency Monday.
But despite all this good news, some space experts strike a cautionary note.
"The old problems of Russian space industries are still with us: low productivity and lack of technical discipline," says independent expert Andrei Ionin. "There could be lots of problems in future.
"Still, this is a great moment. Our people can raise their heads and be proud," he adds.
Spektr-R [Wikipedia]
- The 70 Million Does Include A Bag Of Nuts
"Russia Hikes Price for Space Rides to $70 Million" by Irene Klotz May 1st, 2013 Discovery Communications Unsure when U.S. companies will be ready to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, NASA has signed up for six more rides with the...
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"ISS to be sunk after 2020: Russian space agency" July 27th, 2011 Space & Earth / Space Exploration Russia and its partners plan to plunge the International Space Station (ISS) into the ocean at the end of its life cycle after 2020 so as not to...
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...
- Time To Retire The Hubble Space Telescope
Edwin Hubble The Hubble Space Telescope has served well in its short tenure and will for a while provide more breathtaking photographs. Nothing lasts forever, especially mechanical devices. It just isn't safe or cost effective to send a crew for...
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"U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said he fears Russia's aggressive action against Georgia may have some serious consequences on the American space program." Indeed...politics and science don't always mix well. "Senator Says Russia's Actions Could...