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Investigation Begins into Sea Launch Rocket Explosion |
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LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb. 20, 2007/Satnews Daily/ ― The Odyssey Launch Platform returned to its homeport here to begin repair work and a start to the investigation as to the causes behind the destruction of the $300 million NSS-8 satellite at lift off last January 30. The Odyssey and its sister ship, Sea Launch Commander, are moored together following their return. In a statement Sea Launch said plans for repairs on the vessel are moving forward as is the investigation into the unsuccessful launch. The company said initial steps to identify the cause of the failure were being taken and its international partners were planning an independent investigation. The partners' findings will be reviewed by an oversight board led by Kirk Pysher, vice president and chief systems engineer for Sea Launch. The cause of the destruction of the Zenit-3SL rocket might have been a LOX feedline rupture and valve failure leading to a LOX tank pressurization failure. The rocket’s RD-171 engine has been cleared of causing the failure. The blast destroyed both the three-stage rocket and the Boeing-built NSS-8 owned by SES New Skies. A flame deflector below the launch pad was lost and doors to the platform's hangar were unhinged. Odyssey’s main systems, however, were unaffected and its marine systems remained operational. Boeing Co., RSC-Energia of Moscow, Kvaerner ASA of Oslo, Norway, and SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine own Sea Launch. Odyssey is a former oil-drilling platform equipped with a rocket hangar and an erector system that raises the rocket to the vertical launch position. The vessel is 436 feet long and 220 feet wide. The Sea Launch system has had only one other launch failure since it went into operation in 1999: a rocket that did not gain enough speed to reach orbit because of a second-stage software problem. Sea Launch this year is to launch payloads for Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co., Hughes Network Systems, DirecTV Group Inc., PanAmSat Corp. and EchoStar Communications Corp.
Recent Stories: Sea Launch Delays Launch to Saturday Sea Launch Begins Countdown for NSS-8 Launch Boeing Transfers 25th Payload Accommodations Package to Sea Launch |
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