Russia Can No Longer Control Its Only Space Telescope

BBC reports that Spektr-R, the only space telescope of Russia has stopped responding to ground commands. The problem’s details have not yet been specified. Although it is not able to give orders to the telescope, it is still transferring data back to Earth.

Russia’s space agency, Roscomos, started to notice Spektr-R’s problems on January 10 when the device was unable to move toward specific targets. Specialists began making attempts on restoring the system’s communication. However, Roscosmos made an announcement on Twitter that despite their efforts, it was impossible to connect with telescope’s radio.

Surprisingly, the telescope has outlived its expected lifespan. The Spektr-R was launched back in 2011. It was calculated to only work until 2014. The original launching plan of the telescope was actually in 2004 or 2005. However, during its constructing process, Spektr-R went through numerous delays.

The telescope is equipped with a radio antenna that is 33-foot tall so that it can connect with an on-ground telescopes network. With this connection, the Spektr-R carries out research into the structure and origins of radio signals within and outside our galaxy. The telescope also has instruments that are used to observe solar wind and the outer magnetosphere of Earth.

Several attempts have been made trying to reconnect with Spektr-R, although none of them have proved to be successful. According to the Spektr-R project’s head of research, Yuri Kovalev, there’s still hope.

The inability of Spektr-R to conduct new missions together with an issue in data transferring have impacted another science satellite of Russia, the Mikhailo Lomonosov. At the moment, Russia doesn’t have any active science satellites.

The launching of a joint telescope project of Russia and Germany, the Spektr-RG, was initially scheduled to take place in 2011. However, the launching date has been moved to March 2019. Up until then, Russia’ space agency Roscosmos can only rely on waiting for Spektr-R’s communication system to work again.