Proton-M launch fails spectacular

[Michel Van]

Is the third launch failure this year
but very spectacular
the First stage has engine problem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ5__1PPgNQ&feature=player_embedded

 

[Grey Havoc]

Proton-M/GLONASS destroyed in fiery launch failure (Aviation Week On Space blog)

 

[TaiidanTomcat]

Everybody is excited about fourth of july!

 

[flanker]

"Olympic tourch Sochi 2014"

 

[robunos]

Don't they have Range Safety?.............

cheers,
Robin.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Was wondering the same thing!

 

[AeroFranz]

My same thought. I'm no expert, but I don't think you can correct a trajectory when it is essentially horizontal (!). Shouldn't someone have pushed a red button? or better yet, shouldn't there be an automatic flight termination system?
Did someone terminate the flight or did it simply destruct itself?

 

[Bill Walker]

Perhaps their version of Range Safety is just having lots and lots of open space around the launch pad. Cheap, and reliable.

 

[Johnbr]

To me it looked like the early China's launch of the 90's.

 

[Byeman]

Range safety systems onboard a rocket that blow it up from a signal from the ground are only unique to the US (and maybe ESA). Russian has never used a Range safety destruct system (nor does China). The Russians do have a range safety system, and it is designed to shut down the engines when the vehicle deviates from the planned flight path (but this is disabled for a few seconds to allow for the vehicle to clear the launch site). The Russian launch site is isolated and so there is no near by public to protect by destructing the vehicle.

 

[AeroFranz]

Thanks for the explanation, Byeman.

 

[flateric]

usual suspect at the launch date

 

[mithril]

turns out the cause was human stupidity

Culprit found By July 9, it is transpired that investigators sifting through the wreckage of the doomed rocket had found critical angular velocity sensors, DUS, installed upside down. Each of those sensors had an arrow that was suppose to point toward the top of the vehicle, however multiple sensors on the failed rocket were pointing downward instead. As a result, the flight control system was receiving wrong information about the position of the rocket and tried to "correct" it, causing the vehicle to swing wildly and, ultimately, crash. The paper trail led to a young technician responsible for the wrong assembly of the hardware, but also raised serious issues of quality control at the Proton's manufacturing plant, at the rocket's testing facility and at the assembly building in Baikonur. It appeared that no visual control of the faulty installation had been conducted, while electrical checks had not detected the problem since all circuits had been working correctly.

you think they'd have designed the sensors so they could only be mounted in the correct fashion.. like say using screw placement or tabs. i mean, if IKEA can do it..

 

[Archibald]

... and the murphy law did it again.

 

[AeroFranz]

There is much to be said about parts that can only be installed one way...
Interestingly, color coding connectors doesn't seem to guaranteed correct installation because a lot of people are color blind!


anyway, messing up an installation entailing an arrow pointing up is beyond hope. What's the saying? make something idiotproof and they'll invent a better idiot?