Contact with Spektr-R satellite could be restored - Roscosmos
MOSCOW. Feb 15 (Interfax-AVN) - Specialists believe the Spektr-R satellite, control of which was lost in January, is in order and that its control could be restored, Roscosmos said on Friday.
"Despite the current lack of contact with the spacecraft, specialists are of the view that there is a chance that contact with it can be restored, as one of the reasons could be accumulated radiation," it said.
"There are some indirect indications that the spacecraft's main systems are functioning and that the spacecraft is in working condition," Roscosmos said.
The state commission on Spektr-R (Radioastron) flight tests had a meeting on Friday, it said.
"Having heard reports from representatives of the aerospace industry and academic community, the state commission decided to continue efforts to establish contact with the Spektr-R spacecraft until May 15, 2019," Roscosmos said.
To this end, NPO Lavochkin was tasked with carrying out procedures under the chief designer's program.
Russia's space mission control lost contact with Spektr-R in early January. Roscosmos and NPO Lavochkin specialists tried to restore control of the spacecraft for a month.
Spektr-R (Radioastron) operated in the interests of the scientific community 2.5 times longer than was planned and carried out significantly more functions that it was originally assigned.
The Spektr-RG satellite is expected to be launched this year. It will be used to develop a map of the universe indicating all major galactic clusters.
"Using this spacecraft, scientists from all over the world will be able to find out how galaxies evolved. Work on the other scientific spacecraft of this series, Spektr-UF and Spektr-M, is also continuing," Roscosmos said.