Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/proton261102.html
The first stage of a Proton K rocket failed to launch overnight, leaving Europe's Astra-series communications satellite stuck in low orbit. This was stated yesterday by International Launch Services (ILS), the owner of the missile. The satellite, Astra-1K, was built by the Alcatel company and remained in orbit at an altitude of 175 kilometers instead of ascending to orbit at an altitude of 36 thousand kilometers. "We express our regret to the company SES-GLOBAL, owner of the Astra satellites, due to the malfunction at the stage that was supposed to place the satellite in the correct orbit. said ILS director Mark Albrecht. "We have a long history of success with SES-GLOBAL. They were Proton's first customer. We have several more launches for the same company in the coming year, and we are committed to providing a reliable and timely service," Albrecht said.
The satellite began with a successful launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2304 on Monday GMT (0104 on Tuesday Israel time). The four-stage Proton rocket functioned well until the first ignition of the upper stage, known as the DM block, placed the satellite in a parking orbit. The second ignition of the DM, which was planned to push the satellite into a transition orbit from which it would reach geostationary orbit and after which the satellite separated from the spacecraft, was planned almost seven hours after launch.
According to the ILS company, the initial indicators of the flight were that the second ignition of the DK stage did not occur in time, and that the satellite separated to the parking orbit instead of the orbit from which it could have slowly ascended to the geostationary orbit.
The Russian government has established an investigative committee to investigate the causes of the malfunction. The ILS company will also issue a report to find out what happened and how to prevent it from happening again.
The next launch of the ILS company is planned for the coming days, as part of which the Telsat-Canada satellite Nimik 2 will be launched into space on the Proton M launcher. Its upper stage, a Breeze Am model, has already flown successfully eight times in a variety of configurations. They say in ILS.
