Author Topic: FAILURE: Soyuz 2-1B - Meridian launch - December 23, 2011  (Read 110626 times)

Offline anik

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The launch of Soyuz-2-1B rocket with Fregat upper stage and Meridian satellte from Plesetsk cosmodrome is planned on December 23, 2011.
« Last Edit: 12/23/2011 12:47 pm by Chris Bergin »

Offline Nicolas PILLET

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Re: Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #1 on: 12/09/2011 12:09 pm »
Soyuz-2.1b ? All previous Meridian had been orbited by Soyuz-2.1a... Do you know the reason of he change ?
Nicolas PILLET
Kosmonavtika : The French site on Russian Space

Offline JimO

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Re: Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #2 on: 12/13/2011 05:43 pm »
The launch of Soyuz-2-1B rocket with Fregat upper stage and Meridian satellte from Plesetsk cosmodrome is planned on December 23, 2011.

Any estimate of time-of-launch? The season is ripe for wide-area UFO reports of the ascent plume!

Offline anik

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Re: Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #3 on: 12/16/2011 06:56 am »
According to Novosti kosmonavtiki forum, the launch is planned at 12:08 UTC.

Offline input~2

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Re: Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #4 on: 12/16/2011 12:01 pm »
Quote
B5901/11 -  TEMPO DANGER AREA NZD026 (SUBANTARCTIC REGION) IS PRESCRIBED AS FLW ALL THAT AIRSPACE BOUNDED BY: S 51 45, E 163 00 S 57 00, E 176 00 S 60 00, E 172 34 S 56 35, E 163 00 S 51 45, E 163 00 PRESCRIBED PURSUANT TO CIVIL AVIATION RULE PART 71 UNDER A DELEGATED AUTHORITY ISSUED BY THE DIRECTOR OF CIVIL AVIATION. SFC - FL999, 23 DEC 11:30 2011 UNTIL 23 DEC 13:30 2011. CREATED: 15 DEC 00:33 2011

Offline Danderman

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Re: Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #5 on: 12/20/2011 02:55 pm »
From Google Translate:

MOSCOW, December 20 - RIA Novosti. Rocket-carrier "Soyuz-2.1b" with the spacecraft, "Meridian" is scheduled for Friday, December 23, said Tuesday the RIA Novosti Russian Defence Ministry representative on space forces, Colonel Alexei Zolotukhin.

Spacecraft "Meridian" is a dual-purpose satellite, designed for both military and civilian targets.

According to the source, on Tuesday professionals cosmodrome "Plesetsk" taken out and installed a booster to the launch complex area number 43, where the personnel of the combat crew will test the launch vehicle systems, and launch equipment.

Zolotukhin also noted that the decision to install rocket launch complex was taken at a meeting of the State Commission for the flight testing of space systems and launch vehicles, which took place yesterday in the headquarters of the troops of aerospace defense led by Commander Lieutenant-General SAI Oleg Ostapenko .

Original URL:

http://ria.ru/science/20111220/521542271.html


Found on the NK forum

Offline Galactic Penguin SST

Re: Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #6 on: 12/23/2011 11:21 am »
Astronomy & spaceflight geek penguin. In a relationship w/ Space Shuttle Discovery. Current Priority: Chasing the Chinese Spaceflight Wonder Egg & A Certain Chinese Mars Rover

Offline B. Hendrickx

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Re: Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #7 on: 12/23/2011 12:02 pm »
According to the most recent post on the Novosti Kosmonavtiki forum, the launch failed because the third stage failed to separate.

http://www.novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12118&start=30

No official confirmation yet.

If this is true, the Soyuz TMA-03M crew can consider itself lucky to have made it to orbit before the end of the year. Had this failure occurred a few days earlier, the Soyuz launch would probably have been delayed again.  Although the rocket used today was a Soyuz-2 1b (using a different engine in the third stage than the Soyuz-FG), the core stage/3rd stage separation system is probably the same. The launch failure may, however, delay the upcoming Globalstar launch from Baikonur.

Offline Space Pete

Re: Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #8 on: 12/23/2011 12:06 pm »
Oh not again. Here comes round 2 of "Soyuz fun". ::)

The TMA-03M crew are lucky indeed, at least the next crewed launch isn't until April next year.
NASASpaceflight ISS Editor

Offline Chris Bergin

Re: Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #9 on: 12/23/2011 12:15 pm »
Whoa, that's not what they needed!
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Offline B. Hendrickx

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Re: Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #10 on: 12/23/2011 12:21 pm »
Confirmed by Interfax :
http://www.interfax.ru/politics/news.asp?id=223432

The report says the failure has been confirmed to Interfax by "a source in the space industry", who says there was a failure "during the functioning of the third stage". No official confirmation yet from the Ministry of Defense.



Offline Chris Bergin

Can we look to confirm any commonality between this Soyuz and the previous that launched TMA-03? (Such as the core stage/3rd stage separation system).
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Offline Space Pete

Am seeing reports on Twitter that the 3rd stage fell to Earth where the 2nd stage was expected to fall, indicating the 3rd stage didn't even fire.

If true, this has serious implications for future ISS flights (obviously 3rd stage problem isn't solved).
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Offline Rocket Science

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Re: FAILURE: Soyuz 2-1B - Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #13 on: 12/23/2011 12:48 pm »
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ???
"The laws of physics are unforgiving"
~Rob: Physics instructor, Aviator

Offline Chris Bergin

Ok, let's look to collate what we can in this thread.

We'll cover Soyuz TMA-03 to docking (live coverage in one hour):
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=25257.msg843027#msg843027

Then we'll see where we stand with this failure (and impacts via commonality) as we know it's failed, but the specific reason is required.
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Offline Rahkashi

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Re: FAILURE: Soyuz 2-1B - Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #15 on: 12/23/2011 12:55 pm »
This is just fantastic. We have had two Soyuz failures that have/will affect ISS flights in the future, and we have to send our Astronauts on them. May I ask, then, why we don't have commercial until 2017?

Offline ChrisC

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Re: FAILURE: Soyuz 2-1B - Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #16 on: 12/23/2011 01:05 pm »
Can we nip the editorializing in the bud right away, please?
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Offline gwiz

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Re: FAILURE: Soyuz 2-1B - Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #17 on: 12/23/2011 01:05 pm »
The first launch since the Rocket Forces were taken into the new Aerospace Defence Force.  Not a good start for the new agency.

Offline Rahkashi

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Re: FAILURE: Soyuz 2-1B - Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #18 on: 12/23/2011 01:14 pm »
Okay. So, does this failure have anything to do with the previous Soyuz failure? I understand that the 2.1-b has a different third stage then on the previous Soyuz.

Offline jcm

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Re: Meridian launch - December 23, 2011
« Reply #19 on: 12/23/2011 01:17 pm »
Apparently launched already.

http://ria.ru/science/20111223/524224725.html

which confirms 1208 UTC (1608 MSK) as time of launch
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Jonathan McDowell
http://planet4589.org

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