Posted on 10/09/2005 12:31:21 PM PDT by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
MOSCOW --Russia suspended launches of a rocket used in a failed mission to put a European satellite into orbit to map polar ice, news reports Sunday said.
The Rokot booster rocket will not be launched again pending the outcome of an investigation into Saturday's unsuccessful launch, state-run Rossiya television reported, citing the Russian space agency.
Space agency officials could not immediately be reached Sunday to confirm the report.
The rocket's second stage failed to separate following the launch and the Cryosat satellite fell into the Arctic Ocean, Russian and European officials said.
The second stage did not separate apparently because a missing command from the onboard flight control system caused the main engine to continue to operate after it should have cut off, burning all the fuel on board, the European Space Agency said in a statement on its Web site.
It said the rocket's top two stages and the satellite fell into the sea north of Greenland, near the North Pole.
The loss of the satellite is a blow to the European agency, which had hoped to conduct a three-year mapping project of polar sea ice and provide more reliable data to study the effects of global warming.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Let's hope this is the same great technology they are selling to the ChiComs.
...which they'll just blame on the U.S. anyway.
Sounds like a job for Clintoon.
This technology is tied in to America's success as well. Lockheed Martin uses Russian engines and technology in their International Launch Services (ILS) launch vehicles. Many of our communications satellites were placed in orbit using, in part, Russian technology.
So all of the fuel tanks on all stages are interconnected?
I can see why that might be useful prior to launch (one fueling point for all stages) but why would you need this in flight?
Wouldn't gravity cause all of the upper stage fuel to drain into the first stage?
Sounds like someone may have forgotten to close a valve prior to launch (and no, I'm no expert).
There ... fixed it ....
This sounds like a Karl Rove operation. He didn't want those nice Europeans to discover all those greenhouse gases Halliburton is emitting.
Russia isn't selling it to them. We gave it to them.
You didn't, by chance, take your nick from the Beatles' song, did you?
No chance at all, it was deliberate :) I'm a huge Beatles fan, just saw Paul McCartney last week at MSG! Great show :)
(and no political rants ... Thank You, Paul!)
Actually I've been using this nick for some 16 years online, starting with the ol' direct-dial-up BBS's .. remember those ?
Even farther back: remember sticking the tel handset in those two rubber cups on the modem? :) 110-baud-deedle-deedle-deedle.
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