[FPSPACE] condolences on Phobos-Grunt

[Constantine A. Domashnev]

1. In chronological order:

1a. Anatoly Zak Mon Nov 14 15:25 EST 2011

"Sources, which were more reliable than Roskosmos in the past, said that the 
window will close on November 20. (Maybe some sacrifice of propellant for 
operations near Mars leaves some options after Nov. 20)"

1b. James E Oberg Mon Nov 14 15:59 EST 2011

"MY INTERPLANETARY NAVIGATION GURUS TELL ME THAT DUE TO THE PRECESSION OF 
THE PROBE'S PARKING ORBIT, IT HAS ALREADY PASSED OUTSIDE ANY POSSIBLE 
SUCCESSFUL TRANS-MARS-INSERTION BURN BECAUSE OF EXCESS PLANE CHANGE."

So is the mission over, or is the window open until Nov 20 (or later)?

2. Is there any summary of theories (official or unofficial, in Russian or 
in English) as of to what happened to the probe after the launch?

"BKU reset itself", "a debris hit", "someone has blinded it with a laser 
pointer", "the martians interfered", etc ...

Thanks.

KD