Koronas-Foton
Encyclopedia
Koronas-Foton also known as CORONAS-Photon (Complex Orbital Observations Near-Earth of Activity of the Sun), was a Russia
n Solar
research satellite. It is the third satellite in the Russian Coronas programme, and part of the international Living With a Star
programme. It was launched on 30 January 2009, from Site 32/2
at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome
, aboard the final flight of the Tsyklon-3
rocket. On 1 December 2009 all scientific instruments on the satellite were turned off due to the problems with power supply that were caused by a design flaw. On 18 April 2010 the creators of the satellite announced it was lost "with a good deal of certainty".
low Earth orbit
and was expected to have a operational lifetime of three years. It developed power system problems during the first eclipse season, about six months after launch, and contact with the satellite was lost on 1 December 2009. The satellite returned to life on December 29, after its solar panels received enough light to power its control systems, but attempts to revive the satellite failed, and the satellite is considered lost.
On 5 July 2009, Koronas-Foton's TESIS telescope registered the most powerful solar outburst of the year so far, lasting 11 minutes, from 06:07 to 06:18 GMT. Solar X-ray pick intensity reached С2.7 in a 5-level scale used to classify solar flares. The last equally powerful outburst occurred in 25 March 2008.
, the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute and the Research Institute for Electromechanics. It was built using a bus
constructed for Meteor-M
weather satellite
s,.
Koronas-Foton also carries three India
n Roentgen Telescope or RT instruments: RT-2/S, RT-2/G, and RT-2/CZT. These will be used to conduct photometric
and spectrometric research into the Sun, and for low-energy gamma-ray imagery. These instruments will be operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO), and were constructed by a collaboration of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
and Indian Centre for Space Physics
.
Scientific instruments
Service systems
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Solar
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
research satellite. It is the third satellite in the Russian Coronas programme, and part of the international Living With a Star
Living With a Star
Living With a Star is a NASA scientific program to study those aspects of the connected Sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society. LWS is a crosscutting initiative with goals and objectives relevant to NASA's Exploration Initiative, as well as to NASA's Strategic Enterprises...
programme. It was launched on 30 January 2009, from Site 32/2
Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 32
Site 32 at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a launch complex formerly used by Tsyklon-3 carrier rockets. It consists of a two launch pads, Site 32/1 and Site 32/2, which were used between 1977 and 2009. It has the GRAU index 11P868....
at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport, located in Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk.-Overview:...
, aboard the final flight of the Tsyklon-3
Tsyklon-3
The Tsyklon-3, also known as Tsiklon-3, GRAU index 11K68, was a Soviet, and subsequently Ukrainian orbital carrier rocket. A derivative of the R-36 ICBM, and a member of the Tsyklon family, it made its maiden flight on 24 June 1977, and was retired on 30 January 2009...
rocket. On 1 December 2009 all scientific instruments on the satellite were turned off due to the problems with power supply that were caused by a design flaw. On 18 April 2010 the creators of the satellite announced it was lost "with a good deal of certainty".
Overview
The goal is to investigate the processes of free energy accumulation in the sun's atmosphere, accelerated particle phenomena and solar flares, and the correlation between solar activity and magnetic storms on Earth. Launch occurred successfully on 30 January 2009, and the first batch of science data was downloaded from the satellite on 19 February 2009. The satellite operates in a 500 x 500 km x 82.5° polarPolar orbit
A polar orbit is an orbit in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited on each revolution. It therefore has an inclination of 90 degrees to the equator...
low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
and was expected to have a operational lifetime of three years. It developed power system problems during the first eclipse season, about six months after launch, and contact with the satellite was lost on 1 December 2009. The satellite returned to life on December 29, after its solar panels received enough light to power its control systems, but attempts to revive the satellite failed, and the satellite is considered lost.
On 5 July 2009, Koronas-Foton's TESIS telescope registered the most powerful solar outburst of the year so far, lasting 11 minutes, from 06:07 to 06:18 GMT. Solar X-ray pick intensity reached С2.7 in a 5-level scale used to classify solar flares. The last equally powerful outburst occurred in 25 March 2008.
Development
Koronas-Foton is a successor to the Koronas-F and Koronas-I satellites, launched in 1994 and 2001 respectively. It is being operated by the Russian Federal Space AgencyRussian Federal Space Agency
The Russian Federal Space Agency , commonly called Roscosmos and abbreviated as FKA and RKA , is the government agency responsible for the Russian space science program and general aerospace research. It was previously the Russian Aviation and Space Agency .Headquarters of Roscosmos are located...
, the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute and the Research Institute for Electromechanics. It was built using a bus
Satellite bus
A satellite bus or spacecraft bus is the general model on which multiple-production satellite spacecraft are often based. The bus is the infrastructure of a spacecraft, usually providing locations for the payload .They are most commonly used for geosynchronous satellites, particularly...
constructed for Meteor-M
Meteor (satellite)
The Meteor craft are weather observation satellites launched by the USSR. The Meteor satellites were designed to monitor atmospheric and sea-surface temperatures, humidity, radiation, sea ice conditions, snow-cover, and clouds.-Meteor 2-21:...
weather satellite
Weather satellite
The weather satellite is a type of satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be either polar orbiting, seeing the same swath of the Earth every 12 hours, or geostationary, hovering over the same spot on Earth by orbiting over the equator while...
s,.
Koronas-Foton also carries three India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Roentgen Telescope or RT instruments: RT-2/S, RT-2/G, and RT-2/CZT. These will be used to conduct photometric
Photometry (astronomy)
Photometry is a technique of astronomy concerned with measuring the flux, or intensity of an astronomical object's electromagnetic radiation...
and spectrometric research into the Sun, and for low-energy gamma-ray imagery. These instruments will be operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation
Indian Space Research Organisation
The Indian Space Research Organisation is an independent Indian governmental agency established in 1969 for the research and development of vehicles and activities for the exploration of space within and outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Headquartered in Bangalore...
(ISRO), and were constructed by a collaboration of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre is a major space research centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation , focusing on rocket and space vehicles for India's satellite programme...
, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research is a research institution in India dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. It is located at Navy Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai...
and Indian Centre for Space Physics
Indian Centre for Space Physics
The Indian Centre for Space Physics is a non-profit research organization dedicated to carrying out advanced research in astronomy, astrophysics and space science. It is recognized by the University of Calcutta....
.
Instruments
The satellite’s scientific payload includes an array of 12 instruments. Eight instruments were designed for registering electromagnetic radiation from the Sun in a wide range of spectrum from near electromagnetic waves to gamma-radiation, as well as solar neutrons. Two instruments were designed to detect charged particles such as protons and electrons.Scientific instruments
- Natalya-2M spectrometer MIFI, Moscow, Russia
- RT-2 gamma-telescope TIFR/ICSP/VSSC , India.
- Pingvin-M (Penguin) polarimeter MIFI, Moscow, Russia
- Konus-RF x-ray and gamma spectrometer Ioffe InstituteIoffe Physico-Technical InstituteIoffe Physical-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences is one of Russia's largest research centers specialized in physics and technology. The institute was established in 1918 in Petrograd and run for several decades by Abram Fedorovich Ioffe...
, Russia - BRM x-ray detector MIFI, Russia
- FOKA UV-detector MIFI, Russia
- TESIS telescope/spectrometer FIAN, Russia, with SphinX soft X-ray spectrophotometer, SRC PAS, Poland
- Electron-M-Peska charged particles analyser NIIYaF MGU, Russia
- STEP-F Electron and proton detector Kharkov National University, Ukraine
- SM-8M magnetometer NPP Geologorazvedka/MIFI, Russia
Service systems
- SSRNI science data collection and registration system IKI, Russia
- Radio transmission system and antennas RNII KP, Russia