Wednesday, May 31 2023
All Cities
Choose Your City
'On the Eve of the First World War, the single Siberian province of Irkutsk was larger than all of India'
W.Bruce Lincoln

'Contact lost' with spacecraft after second launch from Russia's new Vostochny cosmodrome

By The Siberian Times reporter
28 November 2017

Blast-off was 'successful' but first planned communication session 'failed' and craft did not reach 'target orbit'.

Clients from Canada, the United States, Japan, Germany, Sweden and Norway had equipment on the launch. Picture: Russian Space Agency

Space officials were scrambling to 'analyse' the date after the glitch which followed smooth launch from the Far East of Russia. 

The unmanned Soyuz-2.1b rocket was launched with a Fregat booster.

Contact was lost with the craft carrying the Meteor-M satellite and other payloads after   reaching  intermediate orbit. 

'During the first planned communication session an attempt to establish connection failed due to the spacecraft's absence on the target orbit,' said the Roscosmos website. 

'Currently all information is being analysed.'

Interfax earlier cited an unnamed source saying there had been a two hour communication silence from the orbiting craft.

'Contact lost' with spacecraft after second launch from Russia's new Vostochny cosmodrome


'Contact lost' with spacecraft after second launch from Russia's new Vostochny cosmodrome
The first launch from Vostochny spaceport took place in April 2016, with President Vladimir Putin overseeing the take-off. Pictures: Russian Space Agency


Earlier Roscosmos said: 'All the initial stages of the rocket's flight went according to plan.'

The launch was aimed to put the Meteor-M weather satellite and  18 other payloads  into orbit. 

Clients from Canada, the United States, Japan, Germany, Sweden and Norway had equipment on the launch.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday that such contracts would help Russia modernise its space industry.

'The launch of foreign devices with the help of Russian launch vehicles should strengthen our positions on the global market of space services and increase the volume of extra-budgetary funds and investments,' he said.  

'Contact lost' with spacecraft after second launch from Russia's new Vostochny cosmodrome


'Contact lost' with spacecraft after second launch from Russia's new Vostochny cosmodrome


'Contact lost' with spacecraft after second launch from Russia's new Vostochny cosmodrome
Earlier Roscosmos said: 'All the initial stages of the rocket's flight went according to plan.'. Pictures: Russian Space Agency


The first launch from Vostochny spaceport took place in April 2016, with President Vladimir Putin overseeing the take-off. But the initial scheduled launch had to be postponed. 

The third launch from Vostochny is scheduled for 22 December.

'The programme of launches will continue next year - it will grow, increase,' said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, ahead of Tuesday's disaster. 

Vostochny, located in the Amur region, which borders north-eastern China, is intended to reduce Russia's dependence on the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which Russia leases in the former Soviet, Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan. 

Comments (1)

time there to have some more heads rolling. send all the embezzlers,drunkards on the job and incompetent people on the job to Chita. let them peel potatoes there. and competent, young engineers who want and CAN work should do the job. maybe VV should pay them a visit there once more. billions are being spent and disappear there. time to stop this. even North Korea can do better by now!
Benedikt MORAK, Moscow
29/11/2017 09:56
0
0
1

Add your comment

We welcome a healthy debate, but do not accept offensive or abusive comments. Please also read 'Siberian Times' Privacy Policy

Name

Town/Country

Add your comments

The views expressed in the comments above are those of our readers. 'Siberian Times' reserves the right to pre-moderate some comments.

Control code*

Type the code

* obligatory


News

Business

The Bank of Russia official exchange rates of foreign currencies
EUR86.51USD80.69GBP99.50Other...