Inmarsat’s next generation Global Xpress system looks set for more delay as experts probe the latest Proton failure to hit the Russian launch industry. Early flight data from Saturday’s mission suggests an anomaly on the rocket’s third stage…
Inmarsat’s next generation Global Xpress system looks set for more delay as experts probe the latest Proton failure to hit the Russian launch industry.
Early flight data from Saturday’s mission suggests an anomaly on the rocket’s third stage caused it to lose the Mexican government’s Centenario satellite, one of three birds in an MSS project worth more than US$1bn.
International Launch Services (ILS), which sells Proton to commercial customers, did not comment on the status of Centenario in a mission failure statement over the weekend, but local reports have claimed that the payload, which was insured through Marsh, burnt up with the rocket over Siberia.
All future Proton missions will likely be grounded while ILS and the Russian government conduct separate investigations into the anomaly.
“ILS remains committed to providing reliable, timely launch services for all its customers,” ILS said.
Inmarsat had been gearing up to launch the third satellite in its Ka-band MSS constellation next month, enabling it to offer full global services.
Global Xpress impact
It is not the first setback that Global Xpress has faced at the hands of Proton, which launched its previous two next generation Ka-band satellites. The constellation had initially been expected to become operational during 2014 when it was first announced in 2010.
Proton had only returned to flight in September after being grounded in May following a federal mission failure that had also been pinned on an upper stage issue.
Another federal mission failure in July 2013 grounded Proton until September of that year. Investigations into that crash blamed human error.
Inmarsat CEO Rupert Pearce said: “This is the third time our Global Xpress programme has suffered launch delays because of Proton launch failures. Although in the past, Proton has returned to flight within a few months of a launch failure, it will not be possible to determine the length of the delay in the launch of I-5 F3 until the cause of the Centenario launch failure is established.
“Customers are understandably anxious to see the delivery of GX services on a global basis, and as soon as we have sufficient information to ascertain the new launch date for I-5 F3, we will make the information public, as well as comment further on the impact of the delayed launch of I-5 F3.”
He added that Boeing is on track to build a I-5 F4 backup satellite to be ready for a potential SpaceX launch in H2 2016, giving it “significant mission assurance in the case of any protracted delays in Proton’s return to flight, or a failed launch of I-5 F3”.
The British operator expects the delay will have a small negative impact on 2015 revenue and earnings.
Mexico eyes replacement
As for the Mexican government, Communications Minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza has said there would be no economic loss for the state because Centenario was 100% insured.
The satellite was built by Boeing, which has almost finished constructing the constellation’s third spacecraft Morelos 3, a payload that is virtually identical to Centenario. Both spacecraft are based on Boeing’s 702HP platform and carry a 22 metre L-band reflector for mobile satellite services, alongside a two-metre Ku-band antenna. Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services is set to launch Morelos 3 this October.
The two MSS satellites were set to join a smaller FSS satellite called Mexsat-3, which was built by Orbital Sciences and launched by Arianespace in 2012. Together, they were due to provide an end-to-end communications system including 3G services for voice, data, video and internet access.
Boeing said: “We stand ready to assist the Mexican government in any way we can to enable our customer to meet its communications needs for the people of Mexico.”
Russian space woes
Centenario’s mission failure came as Russia was still reeling from the high profile loss of a Progress spacecraft, which it had launched on a Soyuz rocket to resupply the International Space Station only weeks before.
Separately, it had until recently also been struggling to correct ISS’ orbit, after being unable to restart the engines of another Progress spacecraft that is attached to it.
Russia has sought to get a tighter grip on the issues facing its space industry by consolidating it under a single state-owned entity, called United Rocket and Space Corporation.
However, some industry watchers have suggested that, as a result of years of underfunding, the country lacks skilled specialists to replace those recruited in the Soviet era.
Although the vast majority of Proton’s failures have taken place under the Russian government’s launch programme, they have helped ILS lose out to increasing competition in the launch sector in recent years, with SpaceX and Arianespace the top beneficiaries of its rocket woes.
