Insight | Behind the scenes at Baikonur – part 2
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The Inmarsat-5 F3 spacecraft is now safely encapsulated into the nose fairing which will protect it during the launch pad operations and during the first six minutes of flight of the Proton rocket.
Just as for I-5 F1 and I-5 F2, it was an emotional moment to see a complex piece of space machinery, which took years to build, disappearing out of sight for good. Out of sight but certainly not out of mind, as we now look forward to receiving the countless streams of ones and zeroes the spacecraft will transmit to our ground stations to provide its health data after separation from the launch vehicle and throughout its long operational life.
One remarkable piece of technology used in the Proton launch vehicle is the fairing separation system. The two halves of the cone-shaped shell are held together by latches which open once a single clamp band at the tip of the fairing is released some five minutes and 47 seconds into the flight, springing them apart at the firing of a single pyro (a pyrotechnic charge). It was fascinating to observe the skill and thoroughness of the Khrunichev technicians in installing such a sensitive piece of hardware whose proper functioning is vital for the success of the launch.
Franco Carnevale, Inmarsat Vice President Satellites and Launch Vehicles, is responsible for the design, engineering, quality and mission assurance of the Inmarsat-5 constellation, their integration to launch vehicles and deployment in orbit. His past responsibilities have included managing the Alphasat programme, a joint venture between Inmarsat and the European Space Agency. His previous position was Director of the Inmarsat-4 Space Segment. In this role he played a crucial part in the spacecraft and launch vehicle specification, contractor selection, contract negotiations, and in programme management. He was in charge of the deployment in orbit of all three Inmarsat-4 satellites. Franco is involved with the Inmarsat resident teams at the contractor facilities in Los Angeles and Toulouse and has himself been based in both cities for the critical phases of the projects.
Prior to the Inmarsat-4 programme, Franco was Manager, Inmarsat-3 Satellite Systems Engineering, responsible for the engineering of the bus electrical systems and the satellite system integration at the Lockheed Martin satellite manufacturing facilities in Princeton, USA. Before that he served as Manager, Inmarsat-2 Bus Electrical Systems Engineering at the manufacturer, BAe Systems in Stevenage. Prior to joining Inmarsat in 1986, Franco held design, development, integration and test responsibilities for space avionics at Laben-Milan and BAe Systems for the Olympus programme.
He holds BSc and MSc degrees in physics from the University La Sapienza in Rome.
