Starsem plans to launch the second Soyuz Fregat booster from Baikonur on 19 March to place two dummy satellites into a simulated orbit, using the Fregat upper stage. The mission will pave the way for two commercial launches in June and July, designed to place two pairs of Cluster satellites into orbit for the European Space Agency (ESA).
The first Fregat was launched on 8 February, carrying an inflatable re-entry development technology (IRDT) shield ona test flight. NPO Lavochkin, which developed the IRDT shield with DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, is proposing to ESA that a second test flight of the IRDT be made. The flight would be aboard a sub-orbital Volna converted Russian Navy missile from northern Russia, with a landing on the Kamchatka Peninsular in the far east of the country.
The IRDT, which protected the Fregat stage after its mission on 8 February, made a successful re-entry, but was not located after it landed. Bad weather impeded the search for it. A second smaller device, based on similar technology and containing a small research payload, was recovered after a search of several days. Inspection of the smaller IRDT indicated that during the latter stages of the descent, the inflation pressure of the device was reduced, possibly because of a tear in its material, and its protective layers were burned by the re-entry heat and experimental samples on the craft torn off.
The faster descent resulted in a harder landing than had been expected, damaging the shield's instruments.
Source: Flight International
