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Tyneside, UK 2024 Sep 17 Tuesday, Day 261
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| Ascent Trajectory - Luch 5A and Amos 5 Launch
Launched 2011 Dec 11, 11:17 UTC from Baikonur using Proton-M/Briz-M.
Initial Ascent to Orbit
The diagram is from the Proton launch control centre's 'big screen' and depicts events during the ascent. One very noticeable item is that the trajectory seems to have been a little flatter than planned but that the launch vehicle seems to have made up for it by firing for longer, or providing a more powerful thrust towards the end.
Briz-M Firing Plan
APT Separation
The auxiliary propellant tank separates from the stack which consists of the Briz-M containing sufficient propellant for the final firing, satellite separation and lowering Briz-M's own orbit. Amos 5 is in the middle and Luch 5A is at the top.
Briz-M Orbit Changes
Each firing of the Briz-M resulted in an orbit change. In the panel below is the result of a series of orbit measurements as the Briz-M climbed to apogee to released the two satellites and then move safely away to avoid potential interference with future launches. At present it is not complete but will fill up as milestones are reached.
The first entry, with a negative perigee, describes the trajectory at the point the Briz-M and satellite stack separated from the Proton-M third stage. Had it failed to fire then it would have followed the Proton into a fiery re-entry and an ignominious end in the Pacific Ocean near 161° west, 24° north. Thereafter there is an entry showing the result of each firing of the engine.
2011-074 Proton-M + Briz-M Baikonur Cosmodrome | 2011 Dec 11, 11:17 | |
in space
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The final two entries are estimates based on Khrunichev's orbital data as the satellites were released into independent orbit. Over the next few hours, the Briz-M performed two further engine firings to distance itself from the satellites and from the geosynchronous satellite belt. |
epoch (UTC) | s-m axis ( km ) | ecc | perigee ( km ) | apogee ( km ) | period ( min ) | incl ( ° ) | ω ( ° ) | | |
2011 Dec 11, 11:26 | 6219 | 0.0529 | -489 | 170 | 81.34 | 51.47 | 90 | | | 2011 Dec 11, 11:34 | 6551 | 0.0000 | 173 | 173 | 87.95 | 51.45 | 120 | | | 2011 Dec 11, 12:42 | 9008 | 0.2628 | 262 | 4998 | 141.81 | 50.07 | 355 | | | 2011 Dec 11, 15:04 | 24567 | 0.7243 | 396 | 35982 | 638.69 | 47.86 | 0 | | | 2011 Dec 11, 20:10 | 42210 | 0.0041 | 35660 | 36005 | 1438.42 | 4.90 | 0 | | | 2011 Dec 11, 21:00 | 42341 | 0.0004 | 35945 | 35982 | 1445.13 | 0.00 | 180 | | | |
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