Fwd: Commission launched to probe Russian rocket failure

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: May 16, 2014 3:42:11 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Commission launched to probe Russian rocket failure

 

Russian Space Agency Still Uncertain Over Cause of Proton Failure

Oleg Ostapenko

© RIA Novosti. Sergey Kuznecov

17:49 16/05/2014

 

MOSCOW, May 16 (RIA Novosti) – Russian space agency Roscosmos investigates several possible causes of the recent Proton-M rocket failure, which resulted in the loss of an advanced telecoms satellite, Russian space chief Oleg Ostapenko said Friday.

Earlier media reports said a malfunction occurred in the rocket's third stage control engine some 545 seconds into the flight.

"It's too early to blame everything on a control engine. A detailed investigation is needed," the Roscosmos chief said.

The official said that, according to preliminary information, an emergency shutdown of third stage engines took place on the 545th second of the flight. It was preceded by a malfunction in the control engine, which caused the rocket to veer off its course.

"Naturally, when all flight parameters exceeded the norm, a [safety] program switched off all engines simultaneously," he said.

Ostapenko said the stage and its payload burned up in the atmosphere above China, with no debris reaching Earth. The Proton has been grounded pending results from an investigation into the failure. The next Proton launch was scheduled for July 15.

A special commission has been set up to investigate the causes of the failure.

The Proton is the largest of Russia's fleet of space launch vehicles, and has carried both government and commercial payloads.

Last year, a Proton rocket crashed shortly after liftoff showering the surrounding countryside with 600 tons of flaming propellants.

© 2014 RIA Novosti

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Malfunction of rocket third stage unit cause of satellite launch failure

May 16, 10:50 UTC+4
A spokesperson for the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) confirmed that the satellite was not put into orbit because of malfunction of the third stage of the rocket

© Roscosmos/TASS TV

 

MOSCOW, May 16. /ITAR-TASS/. The satellite launch failure was caused by malfunction of the steering engine unit of the third stage of the Proton-M. It malfunctioned at the 545th second of the flight, a source at the Baikonur space center told ITAR-TASS on Friday.

The Proton with the Express-AM4R communication satellite was launched from Baikonur early on Friday, at 01.42 Moscow time.

A spokesperson for the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) confirmed that the satellite was not put into orbit because of malfunction of the third stage of the rocket.

The Roscosmos head's press secretary Irina Zubareva said a state commission was investigating the accident. Members of the commission were analyzing the telemetric information and investigating what caused the malfunction, she said.

A space agency source told ITAR-TASS earlier that the head unit with the Express-AM4R satellite was in orbit and that most the rocket was likely in an unplanned orbit. The failure was not surely to cause its fall, he said.

 

 

© Copyright 2014 ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. 

 

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Commission launched to probe Russian rocket failure

May 16, 13:58 UTC+4
The commission would examine every element of the engine's production process

 

© ITAR-TASS/Oleg Urusov

 

VORONEZH, May 16. /ITAR-TASS/. Experts will start an inquiry into the engine failure aboard Russia's Proton-M rocket after its launch from Baikonur space base in Kazakhstan on Friday.

Manufacturers Voronezh Mechanical Plant are setting up an investigative commission to probe why the rocket's third stage engine malfunctioned, the facility's press secretary, Nina Smirnova, told Itar-Tass on Friday.

The commission would examine every element of the engine's production process, she said, as the design bureau responsible for it launched its own inquiry.

Russian Vice-Premier Dmitry Rogozin believes the only way to prevent accidents in space is decisive and consistent fulfillment of already taken decisions to reform the rocket and space industry. He wrote it on his Facebook page.

Engines as used on the fated rocket were first designed in the 1960s and have since been manufactured in large quantities, a plant official said.

The rocket, intended to take a communications satellite into orbit, began its flight from Baikonur at 01.42 Moscow time on Friday, burning up in dense layers of the atmosphere above the Pacific.

Early reports said the engine failed 545 seconds into the flight when Proton was at a height of 161 kilometres.

State commission experts are conducting their own probe. Russia's space agency plans two more Proton launches this year.

 

© Copyright 2014 ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. 

 

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Crashed Russian Proton Rocket Insured for $225Mln

Crashed Russian Proton Rocket Insured for $225Mln

© RIA Novosti. Oleg Urusov

15:15 16/05/2014

 

MOSCOW, May 16 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian Proton-M rocket that crashed early Friday while carrying the advanced Express-AM4R satellite was insured for 7.8 billion rubles ($224 million), the Khrunichev company that built the rocket said.

According to the company, the insurer is Russia's Ingosstrakh, which has been operating on the domestic and international insurance markets since 1947.

Moscow-based Khrunichev, the prime contractor of Proton, said a malfunction in the third stage occurred on the 540th second of the flight.

Roscosmos chief Oleg Ostapenko said the stage and its payload burned up in the atmosphere above China, with no debris reaching Earth. The Proton has been grounded pending results from an investigation into the failure. The next Proton launch was scheduled for July 15.

The Proton is the largest of Russia's fleet of space launch vehicles, and has carried both government and commercial payloads.

In July, a Proton rocket crashed shortly after liftoff showering the surrounding countryside with 600 tons of flaming propellants.

Launches of the Proton were suspended for three months following the accident and the Russian and Kazakh governments quarreled over the nearly $90 million clean-up bill.

© 2014 RIA Novosti

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New ISS Expedition Unaffected by Proton Crash – Roscosmos

Roscosmos chief Oleg Ostapenko

© RIA Novosti. Sergei Kuznetsov

13:42 16/05/2014

 

MOSCOW, May 16 (RIA Novosti) – The investigation into the crash of a Russian Proton-M rocket will not affect the launch of the next crew to the International Space Station, the head of the Russian space agency told RIA Novosti Friday.

A Proton-M rocket carrying Russia's advanced Express-AM4R satellite suffered an unknown failure and was lost early on Friday, about nine minutes after being launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.

"This contingency flight will not impact the manned mission: Proton and Soyuz are carrier rockets of a completely different type. In any case, we will toughen the control over the preparation for all the launches," Roscosmos chief Oleg Ostapenko said.

The third stage of the Proton burned up in the atmosphere above China, with no debris reaching Earth. Proton launches will be suspended pending results from the investigation.

Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst and the backup team, comprising Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and NASA astronaut Terry Virts, arrived at the Baikonur space center on Thursday, in preparation for the Soyuz TMA-13M launch scheduled for May 28.

The Russian Soyuz rocket and spacecraft, widely considered the most reliable manned space launch system in history, are currently the only means of reaching the station following the retirement of the US space shuttle three years ago.

© 2014 RIA Novosti

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FACTBOX: Russian Proton-M Rocket

Proton-M carrier rocket

© RIA Novosti. Oleg Urusov

11:18 16/05/2014

 

MOSCOW, May 16 (RIA Novosti) — Russia's Proton-M carrier rocket suffered an unknown failure and was lost shortly after taking off from Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan early on Friday, failing to send what would have been the nation's most powerful and high-tech satellite, Express-AM4R, into the orbit.

The heavy-class rocket carrier Proton-M is used to place unmanned space vehicles into the Earth's orbit and then into space.

Proton-M stands at the basis of Russian Federal Space Program in the heavy rocket carrier class. The carries plays a crucial role in the development of Glonass navigation satellite system, in Express satellite launches, which provide satellite connection for all Russian regions. It is also used for spacecraft placement by the Russian Defense Ministry.

It was developed by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and has been used for the placement of Russian and foreign commercial spacecraft's since April 2001.

Proton-M is a modern version of Proton-K carrier, with a more efficient energy use, higher ecological characteristics and is easier in use. It has double the capacity of the previous carrier due to larger nose fairing, reaching 5 meters in diameter, which also allow placing a range of prospective boosters.

One of the major changes was the replacement of the outdated 1960s control system with a new one based on the onboard digital computer complex.

The new control system allowed for a more efficient use of onboard fuel, which also minimalized harmful remains. It also provided for a space maneuver in the active stage of the flight, which increased the range of possible support orbit inclinations, as well as near real-time entry or change of mission. The change also improved the rocket's weight characteristics.

Since it was first implemented, the rocket has undergone several modernization stages. After the first one in 2004, the carrier was able to place a 5.6-ton Intelsat-10 heavy spacecraft into the geosynchronous transfer orbit. The second modernization stage was completed in 2007 with the launch of a 6-ton DirecTV-10. The third stage took place in 2008, and the fourth is currently underway.

Proton-M technical characteristics:

Composition: 3 stages

Launch weight: 702 tons

Types and number of engines:

First stage - liquid engine RD-275 (6)

Second stage - liquid engine RD-0210 (3) and RD-0211 (1)

Third stage - liquid engine RD-0213 (1) - cruise engine; liquid engine RD-0214 (1) - control engine.

Diameter/Length of the nose fairing (in meters):

4.35/11.6 (RB Briz-M (Breeze M))

4.35/15.255 (RB Briz-M)

5.10/16.371 (RB Briz-M)

5.10/19.65 (oxygen/hydrogen upper stage)

4.35/12.65 (low-orbit module).

© 2014 RIA Novosti

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