|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Russia: Submarine Launches Spacecraft on Converted Missile A Russian nuclear submarine today launched a prototype of a European-Russian spacecraft designed to be propelled by solar wind, the Russian navy said in a statement (see GSN, June 21). The craft conducted a successful flight test, according to the navy. “According to the telemetric flight data, the experiment to send the Demonstrator-2 into orbit and return it to the atmosphere went successfully,” the Russian Navy statement said. The Russian Ryazan submarine, submerged in the Barents Sea, launched the Demonstrator 2 on a converted SS-N-18 ballistic missile (Angela Charlton, Associated Press/Yahoo.com, July 12). Russian Delta III class submarines are the only ones capable of launching SS-N-18s, according to naval analyst Norman Polmar. He believed today’s launch was the first successful space launch from a submerged submarine (Greg Webb, GSN, July 12). The Demonstrator 2 prototype was launched in a sphere form within the booster, said Lidia Avdeyeva, spokeswoman for the Babakin Space Center, which built the spacecraft. After launch, the prototype’s two sail-like panels unfolded into a cone shape, AP reported. The prototype’s flight test lasted about 30 minutes (Charlton, Associated Press/Yahoo.com). The Demonstrator 2 has been designed to recover cargo from outer space, said Russian Navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo. The spacecraft is also capable of landing on other planets, he said (RIA/BBC Monitoring, July 12).
| ||||||||||
Back to top
