Russian satellite operator RSCC has suffered a second launch failure in a row after the Proton-M rocket carrying both RSCC’s Express-MD2 satellite and telecom operator Telekomunikasi Indonesia’s Telkom-3 failed in orbit.
The rocket’s manufacturer…
Russian satellite operator RSCC has suffered a second launch failure in a row after the Proton-M rocket carrying both RSCC’s Express-MD2 satellite and telecom operator Telekomunikasi Indonesia’s Telkom-3 failed in orbit.
The rocket’s manufacturer Khrunichev said in a statement, “the Orbital Unit (OU), comprising the Breeze-M upper stage and the two spacecraft, was not acquired in the transfer orbit. A signal from the OU was received from an off-nominal intermediate orbit.
“According to the currently available data, the third burn of the Breeze-M main engine occurred as scheduled. However, the engine was cut off within 7 seconds instead of after the nominal 18 minutes and 5 seconds.”
The launch was conducted by the Russian space agency Roscosmos and comes just under a year since a Breeze-M anomaly on a Proton led to RSCC’s Epxress-AM4 failing to enter geosynchronous orbit.
That failure prompted Roscosmos to suspend any further Proton-M launches until an independent investigation had identified the cause of the failure.
In mid-September 2011, the Russian Inter-Agency Commission found that the cause was related to incorrect flight software inputs which led to a shortening of the time interval that manipulates the gyro platform into position and this resulted in the spacecraft being injected into an off-nominal orbit. This conclusion led to Roscosmos subsequently lifting the ban and services were resumed with the launch of a military satellite on 21 September.
Roscosmos has not stated whether it intends to suspend future Proton launches following this latest failure, although local reports claim that it has already done so and will not lift this until the emergency commission determines the cause.
The anomaly will, however, put severe pressure on the head of Roscosmos Vladimir Popovkin. His predecessor Anatoly Perminov was sacked following first the loss of three Glonass-M navigation satellites on a Proton in December 2010 and then the military satellite Geo-IK2 in February 2011 on a Rokot.
The failure may also cause problems to International Launch Services, which is scheduled to launch Intelsat-23 in late August. ILS uses the same Proton-M rocket as Roscosmos, although has previously emphasized the greater level of oversight and quality control to its launches.
In a statement on the Proton failure, ILS said that it will “form its own Failure Review Oversight Board (FROB) in parallel with the Russian State Commission. The FROB will review the commission’s final report and corrective action plan, in accordance with US and Russian government export control regulations.
“ILS remains committed to providing reliable, timely launch services for all its customers. To this end, ILS will work diligently with its partner Khrunichev to return Proton to flight as soon as possible.”
As for RSCC and Telekomunikasi Indonesia, both satellites were insured and a total loss claim seems likely at present. SatelliteFinance understands that the overall sum insured for both spacecraft was around US$220m. Aon placed the insurance for Express-MD2 while Marsh placed Telkom-3.
If such a claim is made, it is thought unlikely that it will have a significant impact on the current low level of launch-plus-one pricing. One insurer argued that with the market still on track to make a profit and the modest coverage of both Express-MD2 and Telkom-3 being spread widely around the underwriters, the downward pressure on rates will remain.
As to what the satellite operators do next, after the failure of Express-AM4, RSCC moved quickly to secure a replacement satellite, Express-AM4r, from EADS Astrium. That spacecraft, which was predominantly funded through the proceeds of the AM4 insurance indemnity, is scheduled to be launched to 80E by 2014.
RSCC has yet to indicate whether it will order a similar replacement this time round.
