“Technical glitch” caused Israel’s Beresheet to crash into moon

April 12, 2019 by John Guilfoil

Statement:

YEHUD, Israel, April 12 — Preliminary data supplied by the engineering teams of SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) suggests a technical glitch in one of Beresheet’s components triggered the chain of events yesterday that caused the main engine of the spacecraft to malfunction. Without the main engine working properly, it was impossible to stop Beresheet’s velocity. Beresheet overcame the issue by restarting the engine. However, by that time, its velocity was too high to slow down and the landing could not be completed as planned.

Preliminary technical information collected by the teams shows that the first technical issue occurred at 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) above the moon. At 150 meters (492 feet) from the ground, when the connection with the spacecraft was lost completely, Beresheet was moving vertically at 500 km/h (310.7 miles) to the inevitable collision with the lunar surface. Comprehensive tests will be held next week to gain a better understanding of the events.

“IAI, together with SpaceIL, built the first Israeli spacecraft, Beresheet, which succeeded in traveling 400,000 kilometers (248,548.5 miles) from Israel until it touched the moon,” said Harel Locker, Chairman of IAI. “This is a tremendous technological achievement for the State of Israel, which is now among only seven superpowers who have reached this close to the moon. This project lasted eight years and contributed significantly to the Israeli space industry, which today became one of the leading space industries in the world. Space travel is infinite, exciting, and inspirational. IAI is the core of the Israeli national knowledge when it comes to space technology, and it will continue to lead Israel to more technological achievements in this field. IAI engineers and staff are working 24/7 on developing new technology for Israel and its security. For them, the sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning.”

Photos: Israeli Spacecraft Beresheet Beams back its First Images of the Far Side of the Moon

April 5, 2019 by John Guilfoil

Beresheet, the historic Israeli spacecraft sent to the moon, has beamed back its first photos of the far/dark side of the moon.

From SPACEIL/IAI:

Beresheet – Israel’s historic spacecraft, which entered lunar orbit yesterday on its journey to the moon – is on an “excellent” track, according to overnight data from the SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) engineering teams at their control room in Yehud, Israel.

During its lunar orbit, Beresheet will be at its nearest point to the moon (perilune) at 470 km (292 miles) from the lunar surface, and the farthest from the moon (apolune) at 10,400 km (6,462 miles).

Beresheet is scheduled to land on the moon at about 11 p.m. Israel time on April 11 – though a more definite time will be announced in the next few days. During the coming week, SpaceIL and IAI will conduct a series of intense maneuvers with the spacecraft in preparation for the landing.

Yesterday, during the critical Lunar Capture maneuver, when the spacecraft entered the moon’s orbit from the Earth’s orbit, Beresheet provided dramatic pictures of the moon while activating its engines.

Weymouth, Mass. Native Serves aboard USS George H.W. Bush

March 22, 2018 by John Guilfoil

A Weymouth, Massachusetts, native and 2017 Weymouth High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush. Seaman Benjamin MacDonald is serving aboard the carrier operating out of the Navy’s largest base. — A Weymouth, Massachusetts, native and 2017 Weymouth High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.
Seaman Benjamin MacDonald is serving aboard the carrier operating out of the Navy’s largest base.

By Dusty Good, Navy Office of Community Outreach

Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Omar Diaz

NORFOLK, Va. – A Weymouth, Massachusetts, native and 2017 Weymouth High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.

Seaman Benjamin MacDonald is serving aboard the carrier operating out of the Navy’s largest base.

As a seaman, MacDonald is responsible for standard shipboard evolutions.

“I like the family atmosphere aboard the ship,” said Macdonald.

Named in honor of former President George H.W. Bush, the carrier is longer than three football fields, measuring nearly 1,100 feet. The ship, a true floating city, weighs more than 100,000 tons and has a flight deck that is 252 feet wide. Two nuclear reactors can push the ship through the water at more than 35 mph.

Powerful catapults slingshot the aircraft off the bow of the ship. The planes land aboard the carrier by snagging a steel cable with an arresting hook that protrudes from the rear of the aircraft.

As a sailor with numerous responsibilities, MacDonald learns about life at sea serving in the Navy and the importance of taking personal responsibility while leading others while still using lessons learned from their hometown.

“My hometown taught me that if you don’t succeed your first time, always keep trying,” said MacDonald. “It helps me because I haven’t been in the Navy long and my dad always tells me he doesn’t care what I do as long as I do my best.”

Sailors’ jobs are highly varied aboard the carrier. Approximately 3,200 men and women make up the ship’s crew, which keeps all parts of the aircraft carrier running smoothly — this includes everything from washing dishes and preparing meals to handling weaponry and maintaining the nuclear reactors. Another 2,500 men and women form the air wing responsible for flying and maintaining more than 70 aircraft aboard the ship.

George H.W. Bush, like each of the Navy’s aircraft carriers, is designed for a 50-year service life. When the air wing is embarked, the ship carries more than 70 attack jets, helicopters and other aircraft, all of which take off from and land aboard the carrier at sea.

All of this makes the George H.W. Bush a self-contained mobile airport and strike platform, and often the first response to a global crisis because of a carrier’s ability to operate freely in international waters anywhere on the world’s oceans.

“I got a shout-out from the commanding officer during captain’s call for focusing on my work which I’m very proud of,” said MacDonald.

As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, MacDonald and other George H.W. Bush sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the Navy the nation needs.

“The Navy has made me stronger,” added MacDonald. “It’s shown me that some people can be hard to work with but you have to learn to work together.”

Russian Air Force An-26 Cargo Plane Crashes in Syria, Killing 32

March 6, 2018 by John M. Guilfoil

Russian_Air_Force_Antonov_An-26_Dvurekov-4 — A Russian Air Force An-26, similar to the one seen here in this stock photo, crashed in Syria on March 6. (Wikimedia)

A Russian Air Force Antonov An-26 “Curl” cargo plane crashed on descent in Syria on Tuesday, killing all 32 people on board, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, as reported by the Associated Press.

The An-26 was landing with 26 passengers and six crew when it crashed 1,600 feet short of the runway.

The cargo plane was landing at the Hemeimeem military base, which Russia leases from Syria. The base is along the Mediterranean coast, far from the front lines of the ongoing Syrian Civil War. The plan did not come under fire, according to the Russians, who are blaming a “technical error” for the crash.

The An-26 is a venerable Soviet-era cargo plane in wide use throughout the world in military and civil service. More than 1,400 were built from 1969-1986 when production ceased. While the plane is a workhorse for many agencies, it is aging equipment and is quickly breaking down, with 17 reported crashes in the last 10 years. This incident is the sixth reported AN-26 crash since the beginning of 2017. In October 2017, a French An-26 crashed while landing in the Ivory Coast, killing four and wounding six. The French plane was Soviet built and 42 years old.

This is the second Russian Air Force An-26 lost in the Syrian Civil War. In 2015, another An-26 crashed while trying to land at an air base in Idlib Governorate.

The continued use of the An-26 is one of the many little chinks in the myth of modern Russian armor and armament. While Russia’s military has made great strides in recent years, the backbone of its military is still decades behind the U.S. and Europe. The majority of the several hundred Russian military cargo/transport planes are propeller-driven and were built when the Soviet Union still existed. Even its jet transports like the venerable IL-76 “Candid” has been around since 1971. Another problem for Russia is that Antonov is a Ukranian company. The modern, AN-148, introduced in 2009, has stalled for Russia because of slow production times and the cooling of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Russia. As a result, the Russian military only has 12 of the modern passenger/cargo jets in service.

By comparison, while the United States Air Force still maintains and uses more than 300 C-130 “Hercules” variants of the Cold War prop-driven cargo plane, it has switched to the modern C-17A “Globemaster III” for much of its logistical work. The “Globemaster III” was first deployed in 1995, and the U.S. has more than 200 in service today.

While not commonly armed, interestingly, the An-26 was used as a bomber by the Sudanese Air Force during the Second Sudanese Civil War and the War in Darfur. Russian pilots also train with the AN-26 as a bomber simulator.

The twin-engine turboprop has a typical crew of five and can seat up to 40 people and carry cargo.

An-26 cargo cabin (Credit: Dmitry Belov)

The Chinese transport Xian Y-7 is a derivative of the An-24 and An-26.

Russian Su-24 “Fencer” shot down by Turkish forces

November 24, 2015 by John M. Guilfoil

Turkish forces claimed Friday that at least two of its F-16 fighters fired upon and destroyed a Russian Su-24 “Fencer” strike fighter after it violated the NATO ally’s airspace.

The move is likely to set off a diplomatic frenzy, and it is the latest test in what will be a tenuous and tedious relationship between American/NATO forces and the Russian military in the Syrian Civil War and the battle against ISIS/ISIL.

The Su-24 is a sweep-wing strike aircraft very similar to the retired American F-111 “Aardvark.” Its wings resemble that of the iconic American F-14 “Tomcat” fighter, but the Su-24 is not primarily an air-to-air fighter craft. Typically, the “Fencer” is used in ground attack and missile delivery missions, though it can be equipped to defend itself against air attack. In addition to bombs and and missiles, the Su-24 is equipped with the 23 mm GSh-6-23 cannon with 500 rounds standard, and it typically takes off with two air-to-air missiles.

Turkish forces are claiming that the Russian jet repeatedly violated Turkish air space and was shot down after several warnings. The Russians have denied this, saying their plane was always flying over Syria.

‘‘We are looking into the circumstances of the crash of the Russian jet,’’ Russia’s Defense Ministry told the Associated Press. ‘‘The Ministry of Defense would like to stress that the plane was over the Syrian territory throughout the flight.’’

Background

The Su-24 was in production from 1967-1993. Out of the 1,400 units built, hundreds remain in service today with several nations, particularly former Soviet states. As of 2008, more than 400 remained in service in the Russian military.

The attack craft satisfied the Soviet need for an agile, all-weather, supersonic strike fighter in an era in which virtually all American efforts were in building interceptor aircraft to counter the Soviet Union’s massive nuclear capable bombers.

While the Su-24 is an ancient Cold War design, the fighter that was shot down by the Turks is almost certainly a highly-updated Su-24M variant. It stands to reason that the Russians would only deploy its most advanced version of this aircraft to the front lines of a battlefield, and these planes have previously been seen operating over Syria. The “M” has GLONASS navigation, upgraded computer technology including multi-function displays, a head-up display, and helmet-mounted weapon sights. It can also carry the latest and most advanced weapons, including R-73 “Archer” air-to-air missiles.

Syrian Connection

This is not the first Su-24 involvement or loss during the Syrian Civil War. The Syrian government operates several Soviet-era planes, including the “Fencer.” In November 2012, a “Fencer” was seen attacking anti-government rebel positions. Later that month, one of the Syrian Air Force Su-24s was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over Aleppo.

On Sept. 23, 2014, the Israeli Air Force shot down another Syrian Su-24 using a surface-to-air missile after the Su-24 allegedly violated Israeli air space over the Golan Heights.

Prior to today, the Russians had 12 Su-24s operating as part of its recent military operations in Syria.