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Author
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Topic: Russian Soyuz rocket fails in launch of comsat
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-23-2011 01:42 PM
   
RIA Novosti (source) Russian communication satellite crashes shortly after launchA Meridian satellite that on Friday (Dec. 23) was launched from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia on board a Soyuz-2 carrier rocket crashed near the Siberian city of Tobolskminutes after liftoff, a Defense Ministry source said. "Early information suggests that the Soyuz-2 suffered a malfunction during the third stage and the satellite came down in Siberia," the source said. "It has crashed near Tobolsk. The exact site is currently being established," he added. Meridian-series communication satellites are used for both civilian and military purposes. They are designed to provide communication between vessels, airplanes and coastal stations on the ground, as well as to expand a network of satellite communications in the northern regions of Siberia and the Russian Far East. These satellites are designed to replace the older Molniya-series. The Soyuz-2 is an upgraded version of the Soyuz rocket, which has been a workhorse of Russia's manned and unmanned programs since the 1960s. This failure was the latest in a string of Russian launch mishaps, including the loss of a Progress resupply craft in August (although that failure involved a different model Soyuz). The problems led Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin to suggest Friday that a turnover was needed within the space agency. "The space branch is suffering a crisis. We must resolve this situation and give way to the youth... Perhaps it's time for reshuffle." |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 12-23-2011 04:21 PM
Good thing Expedition 31's Soyuz rocket flew as advertised. Does the satellite launch vehicle use the same third stage as the manned Soyuz and Progress vehicles? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 12-23-2011 05:27 PM
According to RussianSpaceWeb.com's Anatoly Zak: This was Soyuz-2 with a different engine (RD-0124) on the third stage, unlike RD-0110 on a manned version. And from Bart Hendrickx: The Soyuz-2 1B rocket used today uses the RD-0124 engine in its third stage. This is the first failure of that engine, which today saw its sixth mission. Other versions of the Soyuz rocket (Soyuz-U, Soyuz-FG, Soyuz-2 1A) use the older RD-0110 engine... Progress uses the Soyuz-U and Soyuz uses the Soyuz-FG. |
issman1
Member Posts: 1042
From: UK
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 12-24-2011 04:56 AM
This is the era of Soyuz, the era of reliability... remember that boast? |
Larry McGlynn
Member Posts: 1255
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 12-24-2011 09:36 AM
According to news reports the satellite hit a house in Siberia. The home is located on Cosmonaut Street. That's irony. The owner of the house, Andrei Krivoruchenko, said that he heard a huge noise and a crash as the satellite hit the roof."I climbed up onto the roof and could not work out what had happened. Then I saw a huge hole in the roof and the metal object," he told Russian state television. The head of the Ordynsk district, Pavel Ivarovksy, told Russia's Interfax news agency that the damage was being examined by specialists and that the home's owner would be compensated. |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 12-24-2011 09:10 PM
Well, both failures it seems were third stage. So technically the original R-7 core (the core stage and the strap-ons) did its job. Still, very interesting stuff.As for a satellite hitting a house, it kind of reminds me of that Canadian candid camera parody from a few months back (when UARS was coming home). By the way, think of the weird irony if the satellite had hit a satellite dish.  |
DChudwin
Member Posts: 1096
From: Lincolnshire IL USA
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 12-26-2011 09:45 PM
This latest Soyuz failure illustrates the insanity of the U.S. dependence on the Soyuz rocket to get our astronauts into space. One of the dumbest recent moves in Washington was when the Congress cut the 2012 appropriation for Commercial Crew Development nearly in half, delaying U.S. assured access to space until 2017. The Soyuz failures should prompt an increase in funding so that companies like Boeing, SpaceX and others can accelerate their efforts. |
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