ILS Proton to Launch JCSAT-11

[BGonaSTICK]

Payload: JCSAT-11, A2100 AX platform

Separated Mass: Approx. 4,000 kg (8,818 lbs)

Launch Vehicle: Proton M/Breeze M

Weight at Liftoff: 691,272 kg (1.5 million lbs), including payload

Height: 57.2 m (186.6 ft)

Launch Time: 04:43 Sept. 6 Baikonur; 07:43 Sept. 6 Tokyo; 22:43 Sept. 5 GMT; 18:43 Sept. 5 EDT

Launch Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Launch Pad 39

End User: JSAT Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

Satellite Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, Newtown, Penn.

Launch Vehicle Manufacturer: Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, Moscow

Launch Services Provider: International Launch Services, McLean, Va.

Satellite Use: Multipurpose communications satellite to serve as a backup satellite for the JSAT fleet. It will provide coverage over Japan, the Asia-Pacific region, Oceania and Hawaii.

Satellite Statistics:

* 30 active Ku-band transponders
* 12 active C-band transponders
* In-orbit backup satellite
* Anticipated service life of 15 years

Mission Profile: The Proton launch vehicle will inject the satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, using a four-burn Breeze M mission design. The first three stages of the Proton will use a standard ascent trajectory to place the Breeze M fourth stage, with the satellite, into a suborbital trajectory, from which the Breeze M will place itself and the spacecraft into a circular reference, or parking, orbit of 192 km (119.3 miles), inclined at 51.5 degrees. Then the satellite will be propelled to its transfer orbit by additional burns of the Breeze M. Following separation from the Breeze M, the spacecraft will perform a series of liquid apogee engine burns to raise perigee, lower inclination and circularize the orbit at the geostationary altitude of 35,786 km (22,236 miles).

Target Orbit at Separation: Apogee: 35,786 km (22,236 miles); Perigee: 5,032 km (3,139 miles); Inclination: 21.4 degrees

Spacecraft Separation: Approximately 6 hours, 56 minutes after liftoff

ILS Mission Statistics:

* 1st Proton launch for Japanese customer
* 3rd ILS mission for 2007
* 42nd ILS mission on Proton
* 9th Proton launch of A2100 bus
* 327th Proton launch

Live Broadcast in North America: Galaxy 26, transponder 9, 93 degrees West, C-band, analog NTSC, downlink 3880 MHz (vertical). Test signals start at 6 p.m. EDT.

Live Feed for Europe and Asia: New Skies NSS-7, transponder NAV6/EUH6, 338 degrees West, Ku-band, digital PAL downlink 11534.65 MHz (horizontal), symbol rate 2.46, fec: 3/4. Test signals start at 2200 GMT.

Source: ILS

[remlap]

Feed now active on 22W 11535 2460 H

[remlap]

Shes a failed launch... after the 2nd stage separation I believe.

[Analoguesat]

Oops. ANother botched Russkie launch

Hers the press release from ILS:

ILS Declares Proton Launch Anomaly
BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan, Sept. 6, 2007 -- Khrunichev and International Launch Services regret to announce the failure of the Proton launch vehicle to put the JCSAT-11 satellite into proper orbit for JSAT Corporation.

The Proton Breeze M rocket lifted off at 4:43 a.m. today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Proton launcher failed to inject JCSAT-11 into orbit due to an anomaly in second-stage operation.

A Russian State Commission is in the process of determining the reasons for the anomaly. ILS will release details when data become available. A copy of the official statement released by Khrunichev, which manufactures the Proton, will also be made available upon translation. In parallel with the State Commission, ILS will form its own Failure Review Oversight Board. The FROB will review the commission's final report and corrective action plan, in accord with U.S. and Russian government export control regulations.

ILS remains committed to providing reliable, timely launch services for all its customers. To this end, ILS will work diligently with its partner Khrunichev to return Proton to flight as soon as possible.

[BGonaSTICK]

We've been hearing far too much from the FROB recently

Maybe this will cause a launch bottleneck elsewhere?

I'm sure there are a few lab-bound sats waiting for a launcher now...

Maybe more customers will turn to the Indians and Chinese. They seem to be improving launch on launch.

[Analoguesat]

This is the second major botched launch of a comms sat this year after the spectacular demise of NSS8

[Analoguesat]

Originally Posted by Analoguesat

Oops. ANother botched Russkie launch


ILS Declares Proton Launch Anomaly
BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan, Sept. 6, 2007 -- Khrunichev and International Launch Services regret to announce the failure of the Proton launch vehicle to put the JCSAT-11 satellite into proper orbit for JSAT Corporation.

Some failure - stage 2 blew up! Ive got some pics from a member on another forum I'll put up later

[Analoguesat]

Update - Ive found a discussion thread on the nasa spaceflight forum. It gets a bit technical at times, but they are saying its likely a misfiring second stage.

_http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=8473&start=1

(Plenty of pics on it)

Im not clear if stage 2 blew up or misfired leading to break up of the rocket.

[Analoguesat]

According to the Russia Today news last night a large part of stages 2 & 3 came back down to Earth. Fortunately they landed in an unihabited area, and no-one seems to have been hurt.

[Analoguesat]

And from the Russia Today website


A Russian Proton-M rocket, carrying a Japanese satellite into orbit, crashed in central Kazakhstan. The unmanned booster, launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome on Thursday, exploded 135 seconds after the take off at an altitude of 74 kilometers.

“Fragments of the rocket fell down in a deserted area 50 kilometres to the southwest of Dzhezkazgan. According to our information, there was no damage and no casualties have been reported. The rocket and the satellite are insured. Now a special commission is looking into what caused the crash,” Aleksandr Vorobyov, Press Secretary of Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, informed.

Experts say most of the rocket fuel was burnt up in the atmosphere though an area of around 100 square metres on the ground was scorched by fire.

The Second and third sections of the rocket have been found close to the crash site.

“The Proton - M rocket has been in operation since 2001 and this is the first time one has crashed. Space launches are highly complicated technical operations, and all companies working in this area face similar problems. We hope our partners will show some understanding in this situation,” said Aleksandr Bobrenev, spokesperson for the Khrunichev Space Research and Development Centre.

Meanwhile, Kazahstan's Prime Minister Karim Masimov stated:

“I have signed a governmental decree, to set up a state commission which will be headed by the Emergencies Minister to settle this situation”.

Accidents are uncommon for this class of booster. Proton-M rockets are known worldwide for their safety record.

“Rockets of such class have been used for decades and most of the 25 accidents took place in 1960s. It was re-designed in 2001, and since then this is the first crash out of 17 launches. This type of rocket is used commercially and our customers will definitely think twice before using it in the future. At the same time other rockets on the market also suffer losses due to accidents,” comments Aleksandr Zheleznyakov, the author of ‘Encyclopedia of Cosmonautics’.

Proton rockets were scheduled to put six Russian GLONASS spacecraft into orbit by the end of the year.

After the suspension of future launches, this program is now at risk of delay.

Still the most reliable

Despite the recent accident, experts say Proton-M remains the world's most reliable heavy booster. Its alternative, Angara, is scheduled to be ready no sooner than in several years.

The rocket was originally designed to carry nuclear warheads, but has since become a highly successful heavy booster used for commercial purposes. First launched in 1965 it has undergone a series of changes.

“Russian space launchers are really the world’s workhorses in terms of getting satellites into space, and this is a new upgraded version of the launcher. It is capable of carrying more payload into space in a more reliable way than ever before,” Paul Tadich, Russia Today’s scientific expert, commented.

Constructed in Moscow, it is transported horizontally to Baikonur in Kazakhstan, its only launch site.

The latest model, the Proton-M, can place as much as 22 tonnes into low Earth orbit and between 3 and 5 tonnes into geostationary orbit, depending on the booster used. With about a 95% success rate, it remains the world's most reliable launch vehicle.


Ecological improvements

Continuous efforts are being made to make it more environmentally friendly.

“Proton-M booster is more environmentally friendly than Proton-K, it has a special system that burns the remaining fuel out of the disposed rocket stages and empties all fuel from the tanks of these stages, Yury Karash,” independent space analyst, explained.

But the improvements in reducing its toxic effects do not help when crashes occur, which can result in ecological damage.

In 1999, the previous model, the Proton-K, twice fell out of the sky, straining relations between Russia and Kazakhstan. Russia paid a quarter of a million U.S. dollars as compensation to its neighbour for the environmental effects caused by the accident.

The next generation of heavy boosters, known as Angara, is still being developed. Their use will end Russia's dependency on the Ukrainian rocket parts that are currently used, and launches will be possible from the Russian Plesetsk cosmodrome.