The postponement of the launch is associated with the need for additional confirmation of the declared characteristics of its devices, aggregates and propulsion system
MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. The launch of the Russian automatic station "Luna-25" on a natural satellite of the Earth has been postponed to May 2022. This was reported to TASS in the press service of Roscosmos on Friday.
"The launch of the automatic interplanetary station Luna-25 from the Vostochny cosmodrome has been clarified and is scheduled for the second possible launch window (the period of time when the spacecraft launched from Earth, taking into account its design features and energy capacity, will reach its destination optimally and along a given trajectory) in May 2022," the state corporation noted.
The postponement of the launch is associated with the need for additional confirmation of the declared characteristics of its devices, aggregates and propulsion system. As specified in the state corporation, the spacecraft is fully equipped with standard samples of devices and systems.
"The transition to the second launch window is caused by the need for additional confirmation of the declared characteristics of the Luna-25 devices, aggregates and propulsion system in conditions as close as possible to outer space, which can be carried out on Earth, revealed during the ground - based experimental testing, "the press service explained.
The results of the completed tests, the press service noted, revealed the need for additional research, including taking into account the ballistic conditions of the flight to the Moon. "The events will allow specialists to additionally check the functioning of on-board equipment, including working out the electrical docking of components, working out the logic of operation and standard sessions in accordance with the flight program, taking into account the factors identified during the ground tests," Roscosmos added.
It is assumed that as part of the preparation of the Luna-25 mission, recommendations based on the results of the analysis of the launch of the multi-purpose laboratory module "Science" will be taken into account.
In early June, Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview with TASS that the final decision on the timing of the launch of the mission to the Moon will be made in August. According to him, the launch windows in 2022 are February and May, but the February window is not considered due to the need for complex orbital "body movements".
The launch of Luna-25 was scheduled for October 2021. The automatic station will become the first domestic device in modern Russia on a natural satellite of the Earth. Earlier, the press service of the Lavochkin NGO TASS reported that the Luna-25 device will be manufactured and will complete tests in the summer of 2021. The Luna-26 mission should be launched in 2024, Luna-27-in 2025, Luna-28 - in 2027-2028.
