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Clamps away: Mars Express eases its grip on its lander EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY STATUS REPORT Posted: June 5, 2003 Europe's first mission to the Red Planet, continues its successful mission with another successful 'high-risk' post-launch milestone. Mars Express engineers breathed a sigh of relief this morning at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC), in Germany. If a particularly delicate operation had not proceeded as planned, it would have been impossible to deploy the Mars Express lander, Beagle 2, on arrival at Mars. This crucial operation consisted of releasing Beagle-2's launch clamps. These clamps are extra attachments that ensure the lander stays perfectly fixed to the spacecraft during the launch and is not affected by launch vibrations. After the launch, these clamps are no longer needed, since another mechanism keeps Beagle 2 in place during the six-month trip to the Red Planet. This second mechanism allows Mars Express to deploy Beagle 2 on arrival at Mars. However, if the launch clamps had not released today, the second mechanism would have failed. "The Beagle-2 mission would have been over before it had even started!" commented ESA Lander Manager, Con McCarthy. The release of the launch clamps started at 10.10 CEST and lasted about 30 minutes. The release mechanism itself is unusual. Usually, launch clamps contain a firework-like mechanism, but Mars Express had a much gentler release mechanism for Beagle. It consisted of a sleeve over a clamp bolt; an electric current heats the sleeve to about 100 C. At that temperature, the sleeve expands and the bolt snaps. There were three bolts and they all broke in sequence. "We had to wait two minutes for the expansion of the sleeve which snapped the bolt. The atmosphere in the room was tense and those two minutes seemed to last an eternity! When the first bolt went, a lot of tension was released," says McCarthy. There are more hurdles ahead but Mars Express is demonstrating that it can deal with the many challenges on the way to the Red Planet.
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Flight Data File Vehicle: Soyuz-Fregat Payload: Mars Express Launch date: June 2, 2003 Launch window: 1745 GMT (1:45 p.m. EDT) Launch site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan Satellite broadcast: In Europe on Astra 2C, Transponder 57, freq. 10832 MHz  Pre-launch briefing Mars Express - Our story providing an overview of Mars Express mission. Beagle 2 - Our story looking at this tiny lander and the search for past or present life. Orbiter instruments - A summary of the instruments aboard Mars Express. Trajectory - An illustration showing Mars Express' track from launch until Mars. Soyuz rocket - Overview of the Russian Soyuz rocket used in this launch. Soviet Space  For the first time ever available in the West. Rocket & Space Corporation Energia: a complete pictorial history of the Soviet/Russian Space Program from 1946 to the present day all in full color. Available from our store. Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Viking patch  This embroidered mission patch celebrates NASA's Viking Project which reached the Red Planet in 1976.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Apollo 7 DVD  For 11 days the crew of Apollo 7 fought colds while they put the Apollo spacecraft through a workout, establishing confidence in the machine what would lead directly to the bold decision to send Apollo 8 to the moon just 2 months later.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Gemini 12  Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program's efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Hubble Posters  Stunning posters featuring images from the Hubble Space Telescope and world-renowned astrophotographer David Malin are now available from the Astronomy Now Store.U.S. STOREU.K. & WORLDWIDE STOREClearance sale  Price cuts on spectacular calendars featuring the Hubble Space Telescope, Space Station and Earth from space . U.S. STOREU.K. & WORLDWIDE STOREGet e-mail updates Sign up for our NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed direct to your desktop (privacy note: your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose). On to Mars  A wide variety of papers presented at the first four years of the Mars Society's annual conference are collected together in this volume.U.S. STOREWORLDWIDE STOREApollo patches  The Apollo Patch Collection: Includes all 12 Apollo mission patches plus the Apollo Program Patch. Save over 20% off the Individual price. Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Apollo 12 tribute DVD set  New! Featuring the jovial crew of Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean, the Apollo 12 mission was struck by lightning shortly after liftoff but proceeded on the second successful exploration voyage to the lunar surface. This three-disc DVD brings the mission to life with extraordinary detail. Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Fallen Heroes special patch  This special 12-inch embroidered patch commemorates the U.S. astronauts who made the ultimate sacrifice, honoring the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Women in Space  Women of Space: Cool Careers on the Final Frontier is for girls, young women, and anyone else interested in learning about exciting careers in space exploration. Includes CD-ROM.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Mars rover poster  This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.Choose your store:U.S. Apollo 12 tribute DVD set New! Featuring the jovial crew of Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean, the Apollo 12 mission was struck by lightning shortly after liftoff but proceeded on the second successful exploration voyage to the lunar surface. This three-disc DVD brings the mission to life with extraordinary detail. Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Fallen Heroes special patch This special 12-inch embroidered patch commemorates the U.S. astronauts who made the ultimate sacrifice, honoring the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Women in Space Women of Space: Cool Careers on the Final Frontier is for girls, young women, and anyone else interested in learning about exciting careers in space exploration. Includes CD-ROM.Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Mars rover poster This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.Choose your store:U.S.
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