Author Topic: FAILURE: Sea Launch - Intelsat 27 - February 1, 2013 (0656UTC) (Read 169210 times)

edkyle99 · « **Reply #280 on:** 02/04/2013 06:28 pm »

Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 02/04/2013 05:00 pm

Apparently RKK Energia seems to have given up on Sea Launch and is offering to the Russian government to take over it. (!) But the report is very interesting, including claims by RKK Energia CEO Vitaly Lopota that companies in China, the US, Australia and Ukraine are interested in buying SL, and that Lockheed Martin's Atlas V is a "perfect fit" for the Sea Launch platform (!?)......

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/sealaunch.html#bankruptcy

Original article in Russian: http://lenta.ru/news/2013/02/04/seastart/

That story predates the IS-27 launch failure.

Ed Kyle

input~2 · « **Reply #281 on:** 02/04/2013 06:55 pm »

Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 02/04/2013 05:00 pm

Apparently RKK Energia seems to have given up on Sea Launch and is offering to the Russian government to take over it. (!) But the report is very interesting, including claims by RKK Energia CEO Vitaly Lopota that companies in China, the US, Australia and Ukraine are interested in buying SL, and that Lockheed Martin's Atlas V is a "perfect fit" for the Sea Launch platform (!?)......

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/sealaunch.html#bankruptcy

Original article in Russian: http://lenta.ru/news/2013/02/04/seastart/

The real original article is in Izvestia quoted earlier in the Sea/Land Launch schedule thread

jacqmans · « **Reply #282 on:** 02/04/2013 07:01 pm »

Failure Review Oversight Board

As a followup to the February 1st launch failure, Sea Launch can confirm the following information:

•The Zenit-3SL successfully completed all pre-launch processing activities, with all systems and environments within requirements up to the on time liftoff at 6:55:59 UTC.
•At approximately 11.4 seconds into flight, the Zenit flight control system detected an exceedance of a pre-programmed roll limit and responded appropriately with activation of the on-board thrust termination sequence, which is designed to ensure a safe outcome in the event of vehicle loss of control.
•In accordance with the flight termination logic, RD-171M main engine thrust was terminated 20 seconds into flight, resulting in impact of the Zenit-3SL with the IS-27 spacecraft with the Pacific Ocean surface approximately 4 km from the Odyssey Launch Platform.
•Nobody was injured and the Sea Launch vessels were not damaged in the incident. A search effort conducted this morning from the Sea Launch Commander-based helicopter identified no recoverable debris.

Based on preliminary information received from the launch vehicle designer, the investigation will focus on Zenit-3SL systems associated with thrust-vector control of the first stage engine. As per the Sea Launch Failure Review and Investigation Plan, each associate contractor will first perform an independent investigation of their respective systems, processes and procedures to identify any and all potential contributors to the failure.

Energia Logistics Ltd. (ELUS) will form a Failure Review Oversight Board (FROB) to review the contractor findings and agree on root cause and appropriate corrective actions to prevent recurrence. The FROB will be led by ELUS Chief Operating Officer Kirk Pysher, along with co-chairman Dr. Valery Aliev, ELUS Executive Vice President and Mission Director, and Rick Pudil, ELUS Chief Systems Engineer. The first meeting of the FROB is tentatively planned for late February to early March time frame.

http://www.sea-launch.com/missions-q11349-Failure_Review_Oversight_Board.aspx

owais.usmani · « **Reply #283 on:** 02/04/2013 07:09 pm »

http://ria.ru/science/20130204/921251559.html

Quote

Russian and Ukrainian experts managed to localize the cause of emergency starting rocket "Zenit-3SL"

SIM city · « **Reply #284 on:** 02/04/2013 07:41 pm »

Quote from: input~2 on 02/04/2013 06:55 pm

Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 02/04/2013 05:00 pm
Apparently RKK Energia seems to have given up on Sea Launch and is offering to the Russian government to take over it. (!) But the report is very interesting, including claims by RKK Energia CEO Vitaly Lopota that companies in China, the US, Australia and Ukraine are interested in buying SL, and that Lockheed Martin's Atlas V is a "perfect fit" for the Sea Launch platform (!?)......

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/sealaunch.html#bankruptcy

Original article in Russian: http://lenta.ru/news/2013/02/04/seastart/
The real original article is in Izvestia quoted earlier in the Sea/Land Launch schedule thread

Apparently, Sea Launch is a subject to be addressed at the next Energia Board meeting on 14 Feb. Could it all happen that quickly?

http://www.e-disclosure.ru/portal/event.aspx?EventId=sS7ijHPknUeo6eIqE3Zbmw-B-B

input~2 · « **Reply #285 on:** 02/05/2013 09:22 am »

Quote from: owais.usmani on 02/04/2013 07:09 pm

http://ria.ru/science/20130204/921251559.html

Quote
Russian and Ukrainian experts managed to localize the cause of emergency starting rocket "Zenit-3SL"

Thanks; so the BIM (бортового источника мощности) unit is confirmed as the source of the problem

edkyle99 · « **Reply #286 on:** 02/05/2013 04:30 pm »

Quote from: SIM city on 02/04/2013 07:41 pm

Quote from: input~2 on 02/04/2013 06:55 pm
Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 02/04/2013 05:00 pm
Apparently RKK Energia seems to have given up on Sea Launch and is offering to the Russian government to take over it. (!) But the report is very interesting, including claims by RKK Energia CEO Vitaly Lopota that companies in China, the US, Australia and Ukraine are interested in buying SL, and that Lockheed Martin's Atlas V is a "perfect fit" for the Sea Launch platform (!?)......

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/sealaunch.html#bankruptcy

Original article in Russian: http://lenta.ru/news/2013/02/04/seastart/
The real original article is in Izvestia quoted earlier in the Sea/Land Launch schedule thread

Apparently, Sea Launch is a subject to be addressed at the next Energia Board meeting on 14 Feb. Could it all happen that quickly?

http://www.e-disclosure.ru/portal/event.aspx?EventId=sS7ijHPknUeo6eIqE3Zbmw-B-B

Boeing has sued it's Sea Launch partners just this week, but I'm not sure if that could force Sea Launch itself into bankruptcy.

Ed Kyle

Prober · « **Reply #287 on:** 02/05/2013 04:49 pm »

Quote from: edkyle99 on 02/05/2013 04:30 pm

Quote from: SIM city on 02/04/2013 07:41 pm
Quote from: input~2 on 02/04/2013 06:55 pm
Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 02/04/2013 05:00 pm
Apparently RKK Energia seems to have given up on Sea Launch and is offering to the Russian government to take over it. (!) But the report is very interesting, including claims by RKK Energia CEO Vitaly Lopota that companies in China, the US, Australia and Ukraine are interested in buying SL, and that Lockheed Martin's Atlas V is a "perfect fit" for the Sea Launch platform (!?)......

http://www.russianspaceweb.com/sealaunch.html#bankruptcy

Original article in Russian: http://lenta.ru/news/2013/02/04/seastart/
The real original article is in Izvestia quoted earlier in the Sea/Land Launch schedule thread

Apparently, Sea Launch is a subject to be addressed at the next Energia Board meeting on 14 Feb. Could it all happen that quickly?

http://www.e-disclosure.ru/portal/event.aspx?EventId=sS7ijHPknUeo6eIqE3Zbmw-B-B

Boeing has sued it's Sea Launch partners just this week, but I'm not sure if that could force Sea Launch itself into bankruptcy.

Ed Kyle

saw this coming long ago......the partners owe Boeing close to a Billion us dollars from my reading of the 1st bankruptcy files. The only partner to pay is the company that built the ship. The Russians and Ukraine owe.

owais.usmani · « **Reply #288 on:** 02/05/2013 04:58 pm »

http://ria.ru/science/20130205/921370657.html

Quote

"According to preliminary information, the engine of the first stage RD-171 worked normally"

owais.usmani · « **Reply #289 on:** 02/05/2013 05:00 pm »

http://ria.ru/science/20130205/921393535.html

Quote

Accident rocket "Zenit-3SL" , which failed to bring a satellite connection with Sea Launch on Friday, most likely due to a failure in the onboard source of power of the first stage

input~2 · « **Reply #290 on:** 02/05/2013 05:35 pm »

Quote from: owais.usmani on 02/05/2013 05:00 pm

http://ria.ru/science/20130205/921393535.html

Quote
Accident rocket "Zenit-3SL" , which failed to bring a satellite connection with Sea Launch on Friday, most likely due to a failure in the onboard source of power of the first stage

"onboard source of power" is the English translation for BIM (бортового источника мощности).
anik mentionned that cause just 24 hours after the failure

zaitcev · « **Reply #291 on:** 02/05/2013 09:04 pm »

Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 02/03/2013 11:04 am

- All rocket control parameters were nominal, and the guidance system reacted correctly to the attitude disturbances, but the engine gimballing commands were not executed properly.

Thanks for the translation. If I may, "DU parameters" means RD-171 in this case. He did not mean control, but the performane and health of the engine.

zaitcev · « **Reply #292 on:** 02/05/2013 09:08 pm »

Quote from: input~2 on 02/05/2013 05:35 pm

"onboard source of power" is the English translation for BIM (бортового источника мощности).

Due to conjugations, the dictionary form is "Бортовой Источник Мощности". This form may be useful to search with software that does not do Russian conjugations.

simonbp · « **Reply #293 on:** 02/05/2013 11:07 pm »

OK, so to recap, the proximate cause of the failure was a loss of hydraulic pressure to the thrust vectoring system, and that was caused by a failure of the hydraulic pump? Right?

How is this pump driven?

input~2 · « **Reply #294 on:** 02/06/2013 06:54 am »

Quote from: simonbp on 02/05/2013 11:07 pm

OK, so to recap, the proximate cause of the failure was a loss of hydraulic pressure to the thrust vectoring system, and that was caused by a failure of the hydraulic pump? Right?

How is this pump driven?

AFAIU, the BIM unit consists of two turbopumps, one fed with helium which is activated up to a few seconds before ignition of the first stage engine, then the second turbopump fed with kerosene takes over.
Telemetry data showed a sharp drop in the latter turbopump speed which finally stopped a few seconds after lift-off.

Ben the Space Brit · « **Reply #295 on:** 02/06/2013 09:56 am »

What I find interesting in this case is the fact that the propulsion unit (RD-171) and the TVS system (BIM) are separate systems. Therefore, RD-171 could have operated flawlessly whilst the TVS failed completely. I suppose that I'd always assumed that the entire propulsion system was largely integrated and considered a single assembly but I was obviously wrong.

kevin-rf · « **Reply #296 on:** 02/06/2013 01:34 pm »

I thought the BIM was geared off of the RD-171 turbo pump. So what caused the pump speed to drop? a gearing failure, a clutch failure, seized bearings, a we don't know yet but the real answer will be very interesting?

If I am wrong, what provides power to the BIM?

input~2 · « **Reply #297 on:** 02/06/2013 02:36 pm »

In this diagram of the BIM, the turbopump that stopped (the one driven by kerosene) is in the red box

owais.usmani · « **Reply #298 on:** 02/06/2013 03:41 pm »

So this BIM pump cannot be tested before launch since it runs on kerosene only along a running main engine. Isn't this an inherent design flaw?

Jim · « **Reply #299 on:** 02/06/2013 04:41 pm »

Quote from: owais.usmani on 02/06/2013 03:41 pm

So this BIM pump cannot be tested before launch since it runs on kerosene only along a running main engine. Isn't this an inherent design flaw?

Earlier was mentioned that it is spun up using a ground sourced fluid and then kerosene takes over before liftoff.

This is a common practice. RS-68 uses ground supplied GHe before GH2 take over during engine thrust buildup. F-1 used ground supplied RP-1.