Dnepr 1 launch? - Astronomy News

Blobrana

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Posts: 131433

Date: Aug 17 13:41 2006

New BelKA Satellite	Permalink

Belarus will announce a tender by the end of the week for a new national BelKA satellite to replace the one destroyed when a Russian rocket crashed in Kazakhstan in July. "We expect Belarus to announce a tender this Friday for a new BelKa national satellite, in which at least three Russian companies will take part. One option is to build the satellite using the platform created by Energia, and another is to use the production platform of Khrunichev, with optical and electronic work to be carried out by Belarus". A Dnepr rocket carrying the Belarusian satellite, along with several other satellites, crashed shortly after lift-off from the Baikonur space centre due to a first stage engine shutdown on July 26. __________________

Blobrana

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Posts: 131433

Date: Aug 14 23:55 2006

RE: Dnepr 1 launch?	Permalink

Last month's crash of a Russian Dnepr space booster with 100 tons of toxic rocket propellant poisoned a small corner of the empty steppes in Central Asia — but may have left a wider legacy of bitterness that will impact Russian space activities for years to come. Credit Anton Podgorniy / www.kosmodrombaikonur.ru An aerial view of the Kazakh steppes reveals a crater created by the crash of debris from a Russian Dnepr rocket last month. Read more __________________

Blobrana

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Posts: 131433

Date: Aug 11 09:30 2006

BelKA Satellite	Permalink

Fragments of "BelKA" spacecraft have been found not far from Baikonur. The Federal Space Centre "Baikonur" has confirmed this information to Kazakhstan Today correspondent. A carrier rocket "Dnepr" RS-20 delivering 18 satellites, including the first Belarusian satellite "BelKA," to the space orbit, crashed at a distance of 189.6 km in the 73 second after the lift-off from Baikonur cosmodrome July 27 at 1.43 AM. The rocket was discovered near Zhanakala village, at a distance of 150 km from the lift-off area. A a big-size crater with 50 m diameter and 10 m depth was created. Source __________________

Blobrana

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Posts: 131433

Date: Aug 1 12:29 2006

RE: Dnepr 1 launch?	Permalink

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Blobrana

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Posts: 131433

Date: Aug 1 12:20 2006

RS-20 Suspended	Permalink

Utilisation of the RS-20 type rockets has been automatically suspended. Azamat Abdymomunov, Vice Minister of Education and Science, chairman of the commission on analysis and liquidation of the aftermath of the "Dnepr" rocket carrier's crash, has stated this today, August 1, at a press conference, Kazakhstan Today correspondent reports. "The article 5 of the Agreement on Order of Co-operation in cases of Incidents during Rocket Launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome as of 1995, has come into effect, which implies a suspension of the launches of this type of rockets until the reasons for the rocket crash are discovered" - Mr. Azamat Abdymomunov. The RS-20 rocket was made by conversion. According to "Roskosmos," "the main objective of the launches of the outdated intercontinental ballistic missiles RS-20 was their utilisation. At the same time transportation useful loads is allowed." Source -- Edited by Blobrana at 13:21, 2006-08-01 __________________

Blobrana

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Posts: 131433

Date: Jul 30 20:35 2006

Dnepr 1 Failure	Permalink

The concentration of heptyl - toxic rocket fuel at the site of the Dnepr carrier rocket crash is 1,000 times exceeding the maximum permissible level. According to preliminary conclusions made by experts of the Infrakos-Ekos ecological laboratory, the concentration of heptyl at the bottom of the crater at the Dnepr fall site is 1,000 milligrammes per litre, the Emergency Situations Ministry of Kazakhstan told Itar-Tass on Sunday. Press secretary of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) Igor Panarin said on Saturday referring to preliminary information of environmentalists that the maximally permissible level of concentration is exceeded in the radius of one kilometre from the rocket crash site, and the nearest populated localities are situated several dozen kilometres from the site. A crater of 50 metres in diameter and depth of 10 metres formed at the rocket crash site. "The crater's size testifies to the fact that most of the fuel possibly burnt during the carrier rocket's fall. The products of combustion - carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides are just slightly toxic. When the contingency situation occurred there were 86,428 kilogrammes of fuel components on the rocket, including 23,900 kilogrammes of fuel (toxic heptyl) and 62,438 kilogrammes of oxidiser (nitric tetroxide)" - Igor Panarin, Roskosmos press secretary. Source Tass __________________

Blobrana

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Posts: 131433

Date: Jul 28 18:16 2006

Permalink

A second space satellite can be made for Belarus within 18 months.

According to Irina Gomenyuk, spokeswoman for Russia's Korolyov Rocket and Space Corporation (RKK Energiya), the Belarusian government has already confirmed that it would like to have a new satellite instead of the one that was lost during a failed launch at the Baikonur spaceport on Wednesday.

"The potential of RKK Energiya allows us to fulfil this task so that a new sat will be launched in a year and a half" Ms. Irina Gomenyuk.

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Blobrana

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Posts: 131433

Date: Jul 28 10:52 2006

Dnepr 1 wreckage	Permalink

The wreckage from the Dnepr carrier rocket was discovered at 8:05 Moscow time (4:04 a.m. GMT), 150 kilometres from the space centre on a steppe, a long distance from any residential buildings. The rocket crashed shortly after liftoff from the Baikonur space centre due to a first stage engine shutdown. The Russian space agency has said that no fuel was spilled from a Russian carrier rocket that crashed in Kazakhstan early Thursday morning according to preliminary information. "The rocket probably fell together with the satellites. In this case, many components of the fuel are burning through spontaneous ignition. In this case combustion products are low toxic" - Igor Panarin, the Federal Space Agency's press secretary, . A crater at the crashsite proved that spontaneous ignition had occurred. -- Edited by Blobrana at 11:53, 2006-07-28 __________________

Blobrana

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Posts: 131433

Date: Jul 27 12:33 2006

RE: Dnepr 1 Failure	Permalink

According to the Russian space agency, the crash of a Russian carrier rocket in Kazakhstan shortly after a liftoff from the Baikonur space centre occurred due to a first stage engine shutdown. "During the launch of a Dnepr carrier rocket, which was to have orbited 18 Russian and foreign-made satellites, the rocket's first stage engine experienced an emergency shutdown. This is the agency's official viewpoint" - Igor Panarin, the Federal Space Agency's press secretary. The Dnepr, a civilian version of the heavy R-36M2 Voyevoda (SS-18 Satan) intercontinental ballistic missile, was launched around midnight (8 p.m. GMT Wednesday). Earlier today, it was reported that there had been no casualties or environmental damage and that a special investigation commission had launched a probe into the accident. The exact location where the rocket hit the ground was yet to be established. "A search started in the morning, but the rocket has not been discovered yet. The rocket most likely fell in an uninhabited area, which will complicate the search." - Igor Panarin. Russia has been using converted ballistic missiles to launch satellites into orbit since 1999. The Dnepr, which was seen as a highly reliable carrier rocket, has a lift-off weight of about 250 metric tons and can carry a satellite payload of up to 3.7 tons to orbits at an altitude of 300-900 kilometres. Source Novosti __________________

Blobrana

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Posts: 131433

Date: Jul 27 09:33 2006

RE: Dnepr 1 launch?	Permalink

"A special emergency team has been formed to probe into the causes of the failed launch" - Russian space agency Roskosmos spokesman. "According to preliminary findings problems in the first stage of the booster rocket in the 74th second of the flight was the main reason" - Igor Panarin. Bozeman - The first satellite built in Montana was destroyed Wednesday when the Soviet-era intercontinental ballistic missile it was riding on crashed shortly after liftoff in Kazakhstan. At 100 feet tall and 15 feet across, the Dnepr missile was to carry 18 satellites into orbit. Nearly 200 students, faculty, and members of the public gathered at the Engineering and Physical Sciences building on the campus of Montana State University to cheer the launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome as it was relayed by live video. However, 13 minutes after the launch, a much-anticipated signal from the rocket had not been received. About two hours later, a space news Website posted a story that the rocket had crashed. Full details of the failure will be announced at Baikonur tomorrow. The rocket carried MEROPE, Montana EaRth Orbiting Pico-Explorer, which was the culmination of five years of work and waiting by more than 100 MSU students. "The failure of the Dnepr rocket launch, with the loss of Montana's first satellite, MEROPE, is bad news, but rocket launches remain a tricky business. We have accomplished 95 percent of the satellite's mission by just getting it to the launch pad; the educational experience for the MSU students designing and building the satellite is not diminished by the failure of the launch vehicle." - Bill His****, head of MSU's physics department. MEROPE was a specific satellite design known as a CubeSat. CubeSats are shaped like a cube 10 centimetres on a side and weigh 1 kilogram. They were envisioned as student satellites that could be designed, built, tested and launched in the time it takes a student to earn a four-year undergraduate degree. Read more __________________

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