Test Flight of Cosmos 1, The First Solar Sail, Delayed

The Planetary Society announced today
that the Cosmos 1 test flight will be delayed due to a
pre-launch testing accident that damaged the spacecraft.  The
sub-orbital test flight was scheduled to launch from a Russian Delta
III Class submarine in the Barents Sea on April 26 (Moscow time).

The accident occurred during a ground test at Severmosk, the launch
port and preparation area near Murmansk, Russia.  The test craft
arrived there from the Babakin Space Center located near Moscow. The
Babakin Center is developing the craft for The Planetary Society.

Preliminary information indicates that the accident occurred when the
actual operation sequence of the spacecraft was initiated while the
craft was mounted for testing.

"The extent of damage is unknown at this time," said
Dr. Louis Friedman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society and
Project Director of Cosmos 1.  "Though we are
disappointed that this accident has caused a delay, we recognize that
this is what tests are for.  This test occurred on the ground
and with our test vehicle and in no way derails our program.  In
fact, it could help us to avoid more costly problems in the
future."
 
The spacecraft will be returned to the Babakin Space Center where it
will undergo checks, repairs, re-assembly and tests.  The test
flight will then be re-scheduled.

Cosmos 1, the first solar sail, is sponsored by Cosmos
Studios.  For more information on the Cosmos 1 Solar Sail
project, visit The Planetary Society’s website at http://planetary.org or Cosmos Studios website
at http://carlsagan.com.

-o0o-

THE PLANETARY SOCIETY:
Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman founded The Planetary
Society in 1980 to advance the exploration of the solar system and to
continue the search for extraterrestrial life. With 100,000 members
in over 140 countries, the Society is the largest space interest
group in the world.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
For more information about The Planetary Society, contact Susan
Lendroth at (626) 793-5100 ext 237 or by e-mail at
susan.lendroth@planetary.org.
—
Susan Lendroth
Manager of Events and Communications
The Planetary Society
Telephone:(626)793-5100 ext. 237   Fax:(626)793-5528
http://planetary.org