International Launch Services has concluded its investigation into the 16 May Proton rocket failure, concurring with Russian government findings that blamed the crash on a third stage issue.
Its failure review oversight board, comprising ILS staff,…
International Launch Services has concluded its investigation into the 16 May Proton rocket failure, concurring with Russian government findings that blamed the crash on a third stage issue.
Its failure review oversight board, comprising ILS staff, customers, insurers and technical experts, agreed that the failure was likely caused by a joint used to mount the third stage’s steering engine turbo pump and a steering engine turbo pump rotor material.
They caused higher than expected vibrations that led to the turbo pump shutting down prematurely, ultimately resulting in the loss of the Mexican government’s Centenario MSS satellite.
Khrunichev, the rocket’s Russian manufacturer, said after the government’s probe that it had found ways to improve the components involved in the crash.
ILS, a US-headquartered group that markets Proton to commercial customers, has yet to announce when the rocket will return to flight, or which of the payloads that have been put on hold will be the first to fly.
SatelliteFinance understands that British satellite operator Inmarsat is first in line, and a launch has been pencilled in towards the end of August.
It is the third time that Inmarsat’s Global Xpress programme has suffered launch delays because of Proton launch failures. The system had initially been designed to launch operations in 2014.
Although most of the Proton failures have taken place under the Russian government’s launch programme, they have hurt ILS’ ability to compete with rivals such as Paris-based Arianespace and SpaceX of the US.
Russia’s launch industry got a boost last month when ILS announced it has started actively marketing Khrunichev’s new Angara 1.2 small- and medium-lift launch vehicle. It said the rocket is now available for launches from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Northern Russia from 2017.
The heavy-lift Angara 5 variant should be ready in the 2021 timeframe after its Vostochny Cosmodrome launch site in eastern Russia is completed.
Protons are launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and boast a heritage of more than 400 missions since 1965.
ILS president Phil Slack said: “Now, with Angara available for the small- and medium-lift segment, combined with our continued offering of Proton for the heavy-lift requirements, we are able to serve the entire spectrum of satellites to all orbits and inclinations.”
Russia’s string of launch issues – ranging from upper stage failures to human error – have prompted President Putin to consolidate its space industry under a single entity, the United Rocket and Space Corporation.
