Another Russian launch failure

[Dr Mordrid]

This time a Soyuz-2 (upgraded systems) rocket launching a Meridian communications satellite. Yet another 3rd stage failure. The Meridian crashed into Siberia.

I really feel sorry for their teams - their morale has really taken a major hit the last 18 months and this isn't going to improve the environment.

Gawd - this is going to cause a s***storm.

RIA Novosti....

Russian Space Agency General Director Vladimr Popovkin:

"This is a significant failure, this proves this area of the space industry is in sort of a crisis…"

When a reporter asked if this would affect Soyuz & Progress flights Popovkin scowled, got up and walked out.

[UtwigMU]

How can they have so many problems all at once with Soyuz, it's one of oldest and most reliable lunch systems.

[Dr Mordrid]

It's not just Soyuz-U but Soyuz-FG (all have different upper stages), Soyuz-2 and Proton.

This points to a systemic failure. There are major quality control issues, plus there are personnel problems. A lot of their middle aged engineers have left for better paying jobs, leaving them with inexperienced youngsters and geezers. The middle aged ones remaining aren't enough to hold things together.

[Dr Mordrid]

Latest update: the telemetry analysis indicates a possible wall bulging of combustion chamber No. 1, leading to its burn through and a catastrophic fuel leak. Within 5 seconds the gyroscopic sensors indicated the vehicle was tumbling, most likely after an onboard explosion.

(the Khimavtomatika RD-0124 upper stage engine has four combustion chambers)

One large piece crashed through the roof of a house in Siberia. No injuries reported - yet.

[Jammrock]

SpaceX has to be giddy. Russia is their #1 competition. Once they get going full steam they're gonna be the #1 launch platform in the world (if they keep up their record).

[Dr Mordrid]

SpaceX may or may not like this - it'll really crank up the attention on them.

The Feb 7 Dragon launch going all the way to C3 & berthing would sure make life simpler with Congress though, and the engines for DragonRider start tests soon too. The cockpit layout is emerging and the Paragon life support system was cleared spring of 2011 so it mainly needs integration.

[Dr Mordrid]

Not in this story, but there is now concern that Russia may have difficulty obtaining insurance for new commercial launch contracts. If so this would be an unmitigated disaster for their efforts.

Link....

Russian satellite hits 'cosmonaut street' in Siberia

A fragment of a Russian satellite that crashed into Siberia in the latest setback for Russia's space programme hit a residential house on a street named after cosmonauts, officials said Saturday.

The Meridian communications satellite failed to reach orbit Friday due to a failure with its Soyuz rocket, raising new concerns over the Russian space programme which has now lost over half a dozen satellites in the last year.

Its fragments crashed into the Novosibirsk region of central Siberia and were found in the Ordynsk district around 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the regional capital Novosibirsk.

"A sphere was found, around 50 centimetres (20 inches) in diameter, which crashed into the roof of a house in the village of Vagaitsevo" in the Ordynsk district, an official in the local security services told the Interfax news agency.

In an extraordinary irony, the official said that the house was located on Cosmonaut Street, named after the heroic spacemen of the Soviet and Russian space programme.

There were no reports of casualties while officials said that radiation was within normal limits.

The owner of the house Andrei Krivoruchenko, who was at home with his wife at the time, said that he heard a huge noise and a crash as the satellite hit his 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 Interfax that the damage was being examined by specialists and the owner of the property would receive compensation.

The failure of the Soyuz-2.1B rocket to deliver its payload is a particular worry as it comes from a member of the same family that Russia uses to send multinational manned crews to the International Space Station (ISS).

An unmanned Progress supply ship bound for the ISS crashed into Siberia in August after its launch by a Soyuz, forcing the temporary grounding of the rockets and as well as a wholesale re-jig of the station's staffing.

The loss of the Meridian satellite caps a disastrous 12 months for Russia that has already seen it lose three navigation satellites, an advanced military satellite, a telecommunications satellite, a probe for Mars as well as the Progress.

Russian space agency Roscosmos said the satellite came down due to third stage rocket failure just seven minutes after the launch.

"This again shows that the (Russian space) industry is in crisis," admitted Vladimir Popovkin, the head of Roscosmos, in comments broadcast on state television. "It is deeply unpleasant."
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