Rocket carrying US satellite crashes into Pacific seconds after ...

Published: 01 February, 2013, 11:48

The rocket booster Zenit-3SL on the launch platform Odyssey in the Pacific (Image from yuzhnoye.com)

A Ukrainian-made Zenith-3SL rocket carrying a US-made Intelsat-27 satellite has crashed into the ocean seconds after being launched from a platform in the Pacific Ocean. Ground control lost contact with the rocket.

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Sea Launch, the company overseeing the launch, wrote in an official statement on their website that, "approximately 40 seconds after liftoff of the launch of the Intelsat 27 spacecraft, all telemetry was lost indicating a loss of mission."

The spacecraft, built by Boeing Satellite Systems, was launched on a Zenit-3SL launch vehicle on the ocean-based Odyssey launch platform at the Earth?s equator.

Preliminary reports suggested the rocket?s engines stopped automatically because its trajectory was incorrect.

?The first stage of the rocket was supposed to detach two-and-a-half minutes into the flight, but did not. A search operation is underway for the downed rocket.

The rocket?s flight was controlled remotely by a vessel six kilometers from the platform.

The Zenith rocket is joint project between Russian and Ukrainian space companies. The first two stages of the launch vehicle were designed and built in Ukraine, and the third stage is Russian-made.

The Intelsat-27 satellite, made by Boeing, was designed to transmit communication signals over the US and Europe.

The Odyssey floating platform is owned by the Sea Launch corporation. Previous launches at the platform have been successful. In April 2012, a similar Zenith-3SL rocket sent the Eutelsat W5A satellite into space.

Source: http://rt.com/news/satellite-rocket-pacific-ocean-222/

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