"Some small fragments of the rocket could fall onto Earth. An impact area is being ascertained," the space official said. According to the data given by him, the engine of the third stage of the carrier rocket failed at an altitude of 161 km because of deviation of the Proton-M from the flight path. "There was an angle-and-bank error," he said.
According to the source, the toxic components of the rocket fuel remaining in the third stage of the Proton and the booster unit Briz-M most likely burned up in the dense layers of the atmosphere. Satellites of the Exress series have been insured for 2.5 billion roubles.
Contact was lost in the 540th second
An emergency cutout of the propulsion unit of the Proton-M carrier rocket occurred between the separation of the second and third stages, an official at Roscosmos (Russia's Federal Space Agency) has told Itar-Tass."Contact with the carrier rocket was lost in the 540th second after liftoff," the official specified, adding, "It is known that the nose cone did not separate from the rocket". Third-stage engines for Proton space rockets are manufactured at the Voronezh-based OAO "Khimavtomatika Design Bureau" (KBKhA) space-rocket industry enterprise.
The carrier rocket Proton-M was to deploy into orbit the highest-powered and technologically effective commsat which was intended to become a third spacecraft of the Express series launched in 2014.
Non-deployment of the satellite
The non-deployment of the communications satellite Express-AM4R into orbit was caused by an abnormal situation, Irina Zubareva, press secretary of the Roscosmos director, told Itar-Tass on Friday."An abnormal situation developed during the insertion in the operation of the third stage of the carrier rocket, and the spacecraft Express-AM4R was not deployed into orbit. State commission members are now busy analyzing telemetric data, seeking to find out the causes of the abnormal situation," she said.
Where did fragments of Proton-M fall
Fragments of the carrier rocket could fall in unforeseen debris impact areas, a space industry source has told Itar-Tass. "In any case, Proton-M rocket fragments did not fall in the grounds of Baikonur, or in general in the territory of Kazakhstan. Most probably, this happened (when the rocket was) already far away, in an off-normal impact area," the source said."All the causes and a possible impact area are being ascertained. No information has been received from Baikonur so far, since people monitoring the Proton-M liftoff are in a bunker at the moment of liftoff proper," the source specified. He added, "The breakdown occurred during the operation of the third stage of the carrier rocket, prior to the acceleration unit's separation".
"The Proton-M carrier rocket at this moment is most likely in a non-intended orbit. The propulsion unit emergency cutout, which happened in the 540th second (of the flight) during the operation of the third stage, was not necessarily to result in its fall," a source at Russia's Federal Space Agency has told Itar-Tass.
[itar-tass.com]
16/5/14
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Related:
Une fusée russe transportant un satellite européen s'écrase après son décollage...
ReplyDeleteUne fusée russe Proton, transportant un satellite européen, est retombée sur terre moins de dix minutes après son lancement vendredi 16 mai, a indiqué l'agence ITAR-TASS.
Le moteur principal s'est arrêté 545 secondes après son lancement depuis le centre spatial russe de Baïkonour au Kazakhstan. La fusée s'est consumée au-dessus de l'océan Pacifique.
http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2014/05/16/une-fusee-russe-transportant-un-satellite-europeen-s-ecrase-apres-son-decollage_4419709_3214.html#xtor=RSS-3208
16/5/14
Russia‘s Proton-M Rocket Lost After Unspecified Failure...
ReplyDeleteRussia’s Proton-M carrier rocket suffered an unknown failure and was lost early on Friday, about nine minutes after being launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, Russian space industry sources said.
Irina Zubareva, a spokeswoman for Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, said an unspecified failure took place during third stage flight.
She said that a malfunction took place during the third stage flight and “the Express-AM4R satellite was not put into orbit.”
“Members of a state commission are currently analyzing telemetry data in order to find out reasons” for the failure, she said.
Space industry sources told RIA Novosti that the rocket and the its payload, Russia’s most powerful and high-tech satellite Express-AM4R, were most likely lost.
The advanced satellite was manufactured by Astrium, an aerospace subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), and was built under the Russia’s space program for 2006-2015. It was to become the third spacecraft of the Express series to be launched this year.
According to Roscosmos, the malfunction occurred on the 540th second of the flight.
A Russian space industry source said the rocket was lost 40 seconds before reaching the designated orbit.
The rocket’s whereabouts are yet unknown.
A source told RIA Novosti that the rocket fell outside the borders of Kazakhstan, possibly in Russia’s south Siberia or in the Pacific Ocean. He said a commission will be set up to investigate causes of the crash, and Proton launches will be suspended pending the investigation.
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 two governments quarreled over the nearly $90 million clean-up bill.
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140516/189859265/Russias-Proton-M-Rocket-Lost-After-Unspecified-Failure.html
16/5/14
L'accident du lanceur Proton-M transportant le satellite russe Express-AM4R est survenu dans les couches denses de l'atmosphère terrestre au-dessus de la Chine, les débris n'ont pas atteint la Terre, a annoncé à RIA Novosti le chef de l'Agence spatiale russe Roskosmos, Oleg Ostapenko...
ReplyDelete« Les informations ont été confirmées: la fusée porteuse, le bloc d'accélération et le satellite ont été entièrement carbonisés dans les couches denses de l'atmosphère, au-dessus de la Chine. Compte tenu de l'altitude de l'orbite, nous pouvons assurer qu'aucun débris n'a atteint la Terre », a indiqué le responsable.
Un lanceur russe Proton, tiré dans la nuit de jeudi à vendredi depuis le cosmodrome Baïkonour, s'est désintégré pendant la dernière étape du vol. Il devait placer sur orbite le plus puissant satellite russe de télécommunications Express-AM4R, qui avait été commandé au groupe européen EADS Astrium par le groupe russe « Systèmes de communication et de navigation par satellite ». Le poids du satellite était d'environ 5,8 tonnes.
Lire la suite: http://french.ruvr.ru/news/2014_05_16/Proton-accident-le-lanceur-sest-desintegre-au-dessus-de-la-Chine-Roskosmos-4623/
16/5/14
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....
ReplyDeleteAccording 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.
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140516/189868557/Crashed-Russian-Proton-Rocket-Insured-for-225Mln.html
16/5/14