X-Mir Inspector

The X-Mir Inspector spacecraft is the first development in the line of spacecraft inspectors for examining spacecraft, diagnosing problems and resolving them. Inspection devices were to be equipped with visual and hardware remote control. The first of the planned devices, Inspector-1, was equipped only with a color video camera .

The German company Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG (DASA) (located in Munich ) and RSC Energia ( Russia , Korolev ) participated in the development of the X-Mir Inspector system. The German side was responsible for the development of the spacecraft and the control station, and the Russian side was responsible for the transport and launch container ^[1] .

Structurally, the apparatus was a hexagonal aluminum prism with a diameter of 0.56 m and a height of 0.9 m. The mass of the apparatus was 72 kg. Power supply was provided by three solar panels with an area of ​​0.7 m², located on the edges of the prism. The batteries consisted of 660 cells and produced 50 watts. As energy stores, 12 NiCd batteries were used . The entire case, free of solar panels, was covered with screen-vacuum thermal insulation. Radiators of the temperature control system were located in the area of ​​the chambers. The spacecraft body was manufactured at NPO them. Lavochkina ^[1] .

The Inspector 1 measuring system was based on three fiber-optic gyroscopes with a departure of no more than 3 ° per hour. To control the orientation, three flywheels and a pair of magnetic coils were used. A block of gyroscopes and flywheels was created at the Berlin Technical University , taking into account the experience of creating TUBSAT spacecraft. To move the satellite, two gas nozzles with a thrust of 40 mN were used, into which compressed nitrogen was supplied. Nitrogen was stored in a titanium tank with a diameter of 342 mm and a pressure of 33 atm. The gas reserve provided a total speed set of 6 m / s. To transmit telemetry and video images, two radio lines were used at frequencies of 143.6 MHz and 2 GHz. For data processing, a system was used based on the 8086-compatible V25 processor and ROM and 128 kb RAM. Two cameras formed the optical system of the inspector. The main CCD camera had a focal length of 10-100 mm with a field of view of 3.5 ° -33 °. This camera was supposed to shoot the inspected object: first, "Progress", and then the station "Mir". The star chamber (focal length 25 mm, viewing angle 15 ° –20 °) ensured the orientation of the spacecraft in the stars ^[1] .

The launch of the X-Mir Inspector was carried out from the transport and launch container (793 mm × 1450 mm, 70 kg), which was installed on the Progress M-36. It took about half an hour to launch the satellite ^[1] .

An MCS control station was installed on board the base unit of Mir station. With its help, the crew of the station had to control the satellite inspector in the teleoperator mode, as well as receive and record the image. The MCS station was based on a computer with an 80486DX processor, 4MB RAM, 250 MB ROM and a 264 mm screen ^[1] .

The cost of the device X-Mir Inspector amounted to 15 million German marks ^[2] .

The launch of the X-Mir Inspector spacecraft was carried out from the Progress M-36 transport cargo spacecraft. On December 17, 1997 at 09:01:53, the Progress M-36 DMV undocked from the Mir station (Quant module) and, after two maneuvers, entered an orbit that was safe for the station. At 09:59, the procedure began for the satellite-inspector to leave the transport container. At 10:37 (with a delay of two minutes from the estimated time), the German device was put into free flight ^[3] .

According to the plan, Inspector 1 had to complete the four maneuvers within 50 minutes, reach the safety ellipse around the transport ship, and from 11:35 to 13:50 conduct an inspection of the Progress from a distance of 50-100 meters. After that, at 15:11:30 the TGK was supposed to leave the Mir station. At 17:30 the satellite inspector himself was to approach the station in two maneuvers. On December 18, after four additional maneuvers, the device was supposed to make 3 to 10 revolutions around the orbital complex at a distance of 80-100 meters and shoot the station. The entire experiment program was designed for 29 hours, and after that the X-Mir Inspector was supposed to go into an orbit that was safe for the World. Astronauts Anatoly Solovyov and Pavel Vinogradov were supposed to control the satellite’s movement around the orbital station ^[3] .

But the program was not completed. The mission operator Anatoly Solovyov reported on the malfunction of the orientation system of the inspector. It turned out that the star sensor was out of order. The developers of the satellite tried to make a change to the software, but nothing came of it. At this time, the X-Mir Inspector began to slowly approach Progress, and the Mission Control Center decided to abort the mission ^[3] .

D. Wilde, DASA project manager, said the satellite is operational and is transmitting an image to Earth. He suggested that problems arose in the control panel on board the station. The next day, German experts suggested that perhaps the malfunction was due to improper actions by the astronauts. On the same day, the station’s crew provided records of the inspector’s training and launch, confirming that all checks and procedures were completed ^[3] .

Kirsten Leon, head of NASA's press service, said the X-Mir Inspector is successfully transmitting data to Earth. It was planned that the device will work for about nine months. The spacecraft received international registration number 1997-058D and number 25100 in the US Space Command catalog ^[3] .

Despite the loss of maneuvering ability, the satellite transmitted data and Pavel Vinogradov on December 18 and 19 worked on the MCS control panel with an inspecting satellite ^[3] .

The X-Mir Inspector spacecraft burned out in the atmosphere of the Earth on November 1, 1999 ^[4]

The first German cosmonaut Sigmund Jena participating in the project so appreciated the result of the mission ^[2] :

• I. Lisov. Failure of the spacecraft “X-Mir Inspector” // Cosmonautics news : journal. - 1997. - T. 7 , No. 27 (167) . - S. 8-9 .
• I. Lisov. Spacecraft X-Mir Inspector // Cosmonautics News : Journal. - 1997. - T. 7 , No. 27 (167) . - S. 9-10 .
• Herbert J. Kramer. 1.7.7 OnOrbit servicing // Observation of the Earth and Its Environment: Survey of Missions and Sensors. - 4th edition. - Springer, 2002 .-- S. 144-145. - 1513 s. - ISBN 3-540-42388-5 .

• Inspektor: Launch Information . NASA Date of treatment June 22, 2019.
• Gunter Krebs. Inspector 1 (X-Mir-Inspector) Gunter's Space Page. Date accessed June 23, 2018. Archived March 25, 2019.
• Inspector (German) . Studiolab . Date of treatment March 28, 2018. Archived December 25, 2016.
• Der "Inspector" funktioniert nicht (German) . Rhein-Zeitung (17. Dezember 1997). Date of treatment March 28, 2018.