Proton failure blamed on programming error
Posted: Wed, Aug 31, 2011, 7:56 PM ET (2356 GMT)
The loss of a communications satellite launched on a Proton rocket earlier this month has been blamed on a programming error in the guidance system of the rocket's upper stage, Russian officials said Tuesday. The Express-AM4 satellite was stranded in a transfer orbit when its Breeze-M upper stage failed to complete a series of five engine burns. The Russian space agency Roskosmos announced that investigators traced the failure to a guidance error in the upper stage that put it into the wrong orientation and thus injected the satellite into an "off-design" orbit. Russian officials have lifted the ban on Proton launches with "appropriate recommendations" to prevent the problem from happening again. The Express-AM4 satellite has been declared a total loss, though, since it cannot be moved to geosynchronous orbit. The Proton/Breeze-M failure is not related to last week's failed launch of a Progress spacecraft on a Soyuz rocket; that failure was in the gas generator in the rocket's upper stage, although investigators have yet to find the specific cause of the failure.
The loss of a communications satellite launched on a Proton rocket earlier this month has been blamed on a programming error in the guidance system of the rocket's upper stage, Russian officials said Tuesday. The Express-AM4 satellite was stranded in a transfer orbit when its Breeze-M upper stage failed to complete a series of five engine burns. The Russian space agency Roskosmos announced that investigators traced the failure to a guidance error in the upper stage that put it into the wrong orientation and thus injected the satellite into an "off-design" orbit. Russian officials have lifted the ban on Proton launches with "appropriate recommendations" to prevent the problem from happening again. The Express-AM4 satellite has been declared a total loss, though, since it cannot be moved to geosynchronous orbit. The Proton/Breeze-M failure is not related to last week's failed launch of a Progress spacecraft on a Soyuz rocket; that failure was in the gas generator in the rocket's upper stage, although investigators have yet to find the specific cause of the failure.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Vast signs contract with SpaceX for ISS private astronaut missions
Posted: Sat, Dec 21 11:59 AM ET (1659 GMT) Avio signs ESA contracts for Vega upgrades and Earth science satellite launch
Posted: Sat, Dec 21 11:57 AM ET (1657 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, December 23
Isro to launch 24 experiments to space with PSLV Spadex mission
India Today — 7:16 am ET (1216 GMT) Experimental payloads developed by Karnataka-based academia and start-ups to be launched in ISRO upcoming mission
The Hindu — 7:15 am ET (1215 GMT) ISRO to conduct experiments on growing plants in space
The Tribune (India) — 7:15 am ET (1215 GMT) Isro PSLV-C60 Spadex mission: When will it launch and how to watch it
India Today — 7:13 am ET (1213 GMT) NASA probe to fly closer to the Sun than ever before
Axios — 7:12 am ET (1212 GMT) |
