Have all of InSight's engines/thrusters been permanently disabled now that it has landed?
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One aspect of InSight's condition that may be helpful to formulating an answer to the question Could InSight lift off and move somewhere else? is the current status of InSight's propulsion system.
According to this answer and to Spaceflight 101 InSight has 12 Aerojet Rocketdyne MR-107N Terminal Descent Thrusters (TDN)'s (each variable between 109 and 296 Newtons) as well as four Rocket Engine Modules (REMs), each with one 4.5 Newton Reaction Control System thruster and one 22 Newton Trajectory Correction Thruster).
Is it known if all 20 of these are permanently and irreversibly disabled, perhaps by some combination of remaining propellant venting and/or some kind of fuse?
Also from the Spaceflight 101 article:
The Propulsion Subsystem of the InSight Lander is identical to that flown on Phoenix – featuring a total of 20 thrusters broken down in three different groups: 1) Reaction Control System thrusters with a nominal thrust of 4.5 Newtons, 2) Trajectory Correction Thrusters operating at 22 Newtons and 3) Pulsed Landing Thrusters generating 293 Newtons of thrust for attitude control and velocity reduction during the Mars Landing Maneuver. All thrusters are fed from two central tanks containing ~65 Kilograms of usable propellant.
All thrusters use the decomposition of Hydrazine monopropellant over a metallic catalyst bed to create high-pressure gas that can be expelled through a nozzle to generate thrust. The system operates in blowdown mode without in-flight pressurization, starting out at a pressure of 21 bar provided by Helium ground pressurization.
engines insight
asked Dec 3 at 6:18
uhoh
34.3k17117418
add a comment |
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
One aspect of InSight's condition that may be helpful to formulating an answer to the question Could InSight lift off and move somewhere else? is the current status of InSight's propulsion system.
According to this answer and to Spaceflight 101 InSight has 12 Aerojet Rocketdyne MR-107N Terminal Descent Thrusters (TDN)'s (each variable between 109 and 296 Newtons) as well as four Rocket Engine Modules (REMs), each with one 4.5 Newton Reaction Control System thruster and one 22 Newton Trajectory Correction Thruster).
Is it known if all 20 of these are permanently and irreversibly disabled, perhaps by some combination of remaining propellant venting and/or some kind of fuse?
Also from the Spaceflight 101 article:
The Propulsion Subsystem of the InSight Lander is identical to that flown on Phoenix – featuring a total of 20 thrusters broken down in three different groups: 1) Reaction Control System thrusters with a nominal thrust of 4.5 Newtons, 2) Trajectory Correction Thrusters operating at 22 Newtons and 3) Pulsed Landing Thrusters generating 293 Newtons of thrust for attitude control and velocity reduction during the Mars Landing Maneuver. All thrusters are fed from two central tanks containing ~65 Kilograms of usable propellant.
All thrusters use the decomposition of Hydrazine monopropellant over a metallic catalyst bed to create high-pressure gas that can be expelled through a nozzle to generate thrust. The system operates in blowdown mode without in-flight pressurization, starting out at a pressure of 21 bar provided by Helium ground pressurization.
engines insight
asked Dec 3 at 6:18
uhoh
34.3k17117418
associated meta question: What might a tag for the disabling, neutralization, or passivation of a spacecraft at EOM or some subsystem be called?
– uhoh
Dec 3 at 6:40
I would refer to it as #Mission_Closedown - putting an unmanned craft or subsystem in a state that it either cannot or should not recover from, such that the mission control facility can archive all its data and be vacated.
– Hunting.Targ
Dec 4 at 2:51
@Hunting.Targ I've opened the linked meta question for that discussion.
– uhoh
Dec 4 at 2:53
add a comment |
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
One aspect of InSight's condition that may be helpful to formulating an answer to the question Could InSight lift off and move somewhere else? is the current status of InSight's propulsion system.
According to this answer and to Spaceflight 101 InSight has 12 Aerojet Rocketdyne MR-107N Terminal Descent Thrusters (TDN)'s (each variable between 109 and 296 Newtons) as well as four Rocket Engine Modules (REMs), each with one 4.5 Newton Reaction Control System thruster and one 22 Newton Trajectory Correction Thruster).
Is it known if all 20 of these are permanently and irreversibly disabled, perhaps by some combination of remaining propellant venting and/or some kind of fuse?
Also from the Spaceflight 101 article:
The Propulsion Subsystem of the InSight Lander is identical to that flown on Phoenix – featuring a total of 20 thrusters broken down in three different groups: 1) Reaction Control System thrusters with a nominal thrust of 4.5 Newtons, 2) Trajectory Correction Thrusters operating at 22 Newtons and 3) Pulsed Landing Thrusters generating 293 Newtons of thrust for attitude control and velocity reduction during the Mars Landing Maneuver. All thrusters are fed from two central tanks containing ~65 Kilograms of usable propellant.
All thrusters use the decomposition of Hydrazine monopropellant over a metallic catalyst bed to create high-pressure gas that can be expelled through a nozzle to generate thrust. The system operates in blowdown mode without in-flight pressurization, starting out at a pressure of 21 bar provided by Helium ground pressurization.
engines insight
asked Dec 3 at 6:18
uhoh
34.3k17117418
One aspect of InSight's condition that may be helpful to formulating an answer to the question Could InSight lift off and move somewhere else? is the current status of InSight's propulsion system.
According to this answer and to Spaceflight 101 InSight has 12 Aerojet Rocketdyne MR-107N Terminal Descent Thrusters (TDN)'s (each variable between 109 and 296 Newtons) as well as four Rocket Engine Modules (REMs), each with one 4.5 Newton Reaction Control System thruster and one 22 Newton Trajectory Correction Thruster).
Is it known if all 20 of these are permanently and irreversibly disabled, perhaps by some combination of remaining propellant venting and/or some kind of fuse?
Also from the Spaceflight 101 article:
The Propulsion Subsystem of the InSight Lander is identical to that flown on Phoenix – featuring a total of 20 thrusters broken down in three different groups: 1) Reaction Control System thrusters with a nominal thrust of 4.5 Newtons, 2) Trajectory Correction Thrusters operating at 22 Newtons and 3) Pulsed Landing Thrusters generating 293 Newtons of thrust for attitude control and velocity reduction during the Mars Landing Maneuver. All thrusters are fed from two central tanks containing ~65 Kilograms of usable propellant.
All thrusters use the decomposition of Hydrazine monopropellant over a metallic catalyst bed to create high-pressure gas that can be expelled through a nozzle to generate thrust. The system operates in blowdown mode without in-flight pressurization, starting out at a pressure of 21 bar provided by Helium ground pressurization.
engines insight
engines insight
asked Dec 3 at 6:18
uhoh
34.3k17117418
asked Dec 3 at 6:18
uhoh
34.3k17117418
asked Dec 3 at 6:18
uhoh
34.3k17117418
asked Dec 3 at 6:18
uhoh
34.3k17117418
asked Dec 3 at 6:18
uhoh
34.3k17117418
34.3k17117418
associated meta question: What might a tag for the disabling, neutralization, or passivation of a spacecraft at EOM or some subsystem be called?
– uhoh
Dec 3 at 6:40
I would refer to it as #Mission_Closedown - putting an unmanned craft or subsystem in a state that it either cannot or should not recover from, such that the mission control facility can archive all its data and be vacated.
– Hunting.Targ
Dec 4 at 2:51
@Hunting.Targ I've opened the linked meta question for that discussion.
– uhoh
Dec 4 at 2:53
add a comment |
associated meta question: What might a tag for the disabling, neutralization, or passivation of a spacecraft at EOM or some subsystem be called?
– uhoh
Dec 3 at 6:40
I would refer to it as #Mission_Closedown - putting an unmanned craft or subsystem in a state that it either cannot or should not recover from, such that the mission control facility can archive all its data and be vacated.
– Hunting.Targ
Dec 4 at 2:51
@Hunting.Targ I've opened the linked meta question for that discussion.
– uhoh
Dec 4 at 2:53
associated meta question: What might a tag for the disabling, neutralization, or passivation of a spacecraft at EOM or some subsystem be called?
– uhoh
Dec 3 at 6:40
associated meta question: What might a tag for the disabling, neutralization, or passivation of a spacecraft at EOM or some subsystem be called?
– uhoh
Dec 3 at 6:40
I would refer to it as #Mission_Closedown - putting an unmanned craft or subsystem in a state that it either cannot or should not recover from, such that the mission control facility can archive all its data and be vacated.
– Hunting.Targ
Dec 4 at 2:51
I would refer to it as #Mission_Closedown - putting an unmanned craft or subsystem in a state that it either cannot or should not recover from, such that the mission control facility can archive all its data and be vacated.
– Hunting.Targ
Dec 4 at 2:51
@Hunting.Targ I've opened the linked meta question for that discussion.
– uhoh
Dec 4 at 2:53
@Hunting.Targ I've opened the linked meta question for that discussion.
– uhoh
Dec 4 at 2:53
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
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oldest
votes
up vote
6
down vote
Phoenix (the lander design they largely reused for InSight) vented it's helium pressurisation on landing, before waiting for the dust to settle - it's likely the same was done for InSight -- however "helium vent detected" was a call-out for Phoenix, but wasn't for InSight.
In addition, on Phoenix, the remaining hydrazine was expected to freeze during the first night on Mars (The backshell/heatshield kept everything warm by preventing radiative cooling of the electronics during the cruise stage)
answered Dec 3 at 8:30
JCRM
3,1412931
I've just asked Is it bad if hydrazine freezes on a spacecraft? Is it always kept as liquid, or can it be safely allowed to freeze and then thawed when needed?
– uhoh
Dec 5 at 13:09
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
6
down vote
Phoenix (the lander design they largely reused for InSight) vented it's helium pressurisation on landing, before waiting for the dust to settle - it's likely the same was done for InSight -- however "helium vent detected" was a call-out for Phoenix, but wasn't for InSight.
In addition, on Phoenix, the remaining hydrazine was expected to freeze during the first night on Mars (The backshell/heatshield kept everything warm by preventing radiative cooling of the electronics during the cruise stage)
answered Dec 3 at 8:30
JCRM
3,1412931
I've just asked Is it bad if hydrazine freezes on a spacecraft? Is it always kept as liquid, or can it be safely allowed to freeze and then thawed when needed?
– uhoh
Dec 5 at 13:09
add a comment |
up vote
6
down vote
Phoenix (the lander design they largely reused for InSight) vented it's helium pressurisation on landing, before waiting for the dust to settle - it's likely the same was done for InSight -- however "helium vent detected" was a call-out for Phoenix, but wasn't for InSight.
In addition, on Phoenix, the remaining hydrazine was expected to freeze during the first night on Mars (The backshell/heatshield kept everything warm by preventing radiative cooling of the electronics during the cruise stage)
answered Dec 3 at 8:30
JCRM
3,1412931
I've just asked Is it bad if hydrazine freezes on a spacecraft? Is it always kept as liquid, or can it be safely allowed to freeze and then thawed when needed?
– uhoh
Dec 5 at 13:09
add a comment |
up vote
6
down vote
up vote
6
down vote
Phoenix (the lander design they largely reused for InSight) vented it's helium pressurisation on landing, before waiting for the dust to settle - it's likely the same was done for InSight -- however "helium vent detected" was a call-out for Phoenix, but wasn't for InSight.
In addition, on Phoenix, the remaining hydrazine was expected to freeze during the first night on Mars (The backshell/heatshield kept everything warm by preventing radiative cooling of the electronics during the cruise stage)
answered Dec 3 at 8:30
JCRM
3,1412931
Phoenix (the lander design they largely reused for InSight) vented it's helium pressurisation on landing, before waiting for the dust to settle - it's likely the same was done for InSight -- however "helium vent detected" was a call-out for Phoenix, but wasn't for InSight.
In addition, on Phoenix, the remaining hydrazine was expected to freeze during the first night on Mars (The backshell/heatshield kept everything warm by preventing radiative cooling of the electronics during the cruise stage)
answered Dec 3 at 8:30
JCRM
3,1412931
edited Dec 5 at 10:28
answered Dec 3 at 8:30
JCRM
3,1412931
answered Dec 3 at 8:30
JCRM
3,1412931
answered Dec 3 at 8:30
JCRM
3,1412931
3,1412931
I've just asked Is it bad if hydrazine freezes on a spacecraft? Is it always kept as liquid, or can it be safely allowed to freeze and then thawed when needed?
– uhoh
Dec 5 at 13:09
add a comment |
I've just asked Is it bad if hydrazine freezes on a spacecraft? Is it always kept as liquid, or can it be safely allowed to freeze and then thawed when needed?
– uhoh
Dec 5 at 13:09
I've just asked Is it bad if hydrazine freezes on a spacecraft? Is it always kept as liquid, or can it be safely allowed to freeze and then thawed when needed?
– uhoh
Dec 5 at 13:09
I've just asked Is it bad if hydrazine freezes on a spacecraft? Is it always kept as liquid, or can it be safely allowed to freeze and then thawed when needed?
– uhoh
Dec 5 at 13:09
add a comment |
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associated meta question: What might a tag for the disabling, neutralization, or passivation of a spacecraft at EOM or some subsystem be called?
– uhoh
Dec 3 at 6:40
I would refer to it as #Mission_Closedown - putting an unmanned craft or subsystem in a state that it either cannot or should not recover from, such that the mission control facility can archive all its data and be vacated.
– Hunting.Targ
Dec 4 at 2:51
@Hunting.Targ I've opened the linked meta question for that discussion.
– uhoh
Dec 4 at 2:53