Sea Launch vehicle explodes on launch pad, Sea Launch Zenit 3SL vehicle, carrying the NSS 8 satellite Options

[nprev]

The main media seems to be picking it up now...it's going to be a lead story on one of the Los Angeles local news channels tonight (possibly because of some local connections, though).

[spdf]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070201/lath054.html?.v=88

Sea Launch Assesses Status and Plans for Next Steps
Thursday February 1, 8:15 am ET


LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the unsuccessful launch of the NSS-8 spacecraft on January 30, and subsequent safing of all systems, Sea Launch is now in the process of securing the Odyssey Launch Platform and taking initial measures to determine the root cause and implement necessary corrective actions. Applications for all necessary permits and licenses required to proceed with these activities are also in process.
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A preliminary assessment of the Odyssey Launch Platform indicates that, while it has sustained limited damage, the integrity and functionality of essential marine, communications and crew support systems remains intact. The vessel is operating on its own power and is currently manned by the full marine crew. This team is performing a comprehensive assessment of all aspects of the vessel, including its structural integrity and sea-worthiness, in anticipation of identifying and planning the next steps. The team on the Sea Launch Commander is in excellent condition and is supporting these activities. The Commander incurred no damage during yesterday's launch attempt, as it was positioned four miles from the Launch Platform at the time of lift-off.

The Sea Launch partners will be conducting an independent investigation to review relevant data, determine root cause, and develop recommendations for corrective actions. In accordance with established procedures, Sea Launch is establishing a Failure Review Oversight Board (FROB) to review the partners' findings, conclusions and recommendations. Kirk Pysher, vice president and chief systems engineer for Sea Launch, will chair this board. The main activity of the FROB will commence once the partner-led independent investigation is complete.

"We deeply regret the loss of the NSS-8 satellite, which was designed to be a significant part of the SES NEW SKIES fleet. We are receiving consistent expressions of confidence in our system and our team from our customers and the insurance community," said Rob Peckham, president of Sea Launch. "We have begun to discuss a plan for a Return to Flight.

"The safety of our people is our number one priority. The Sea Launch team is the best in the business and will continue to work diligently to understand the anomaly, identify the root cause and determine a corrective course of action. As we move forward, we are maintaining a positive, progressive mind-set and a dedication to excellence."

Sea Launch is an international launch service provider, based in Long Beach, Calif. Using a floating platform, one of two ocean-going vessels, Sea Launch lifts its Zenit-3SL rocket from a position on the equator at 154 degrees West Longitude. The Sea Launch partners include Boeing, RSC Energia, Aker ASA and SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash. For more information, please visit the Sea Launch web site at: www.sea-launch.com. We will continue to post updates on this site, as available.

[stevesliva]

Wow. If anything the fact that a rocket can fail that spectacularly and not severly disable the non-launch capabilities of the platform is a testament to the viability of this model. Whomever insures the platform is thinking, "An excuse to raise the premiums at the same time as realizing less risk than I might have supposed... sweet!"

[Jim from NSF.com]

It wasn't an explosion, there was no shockwave. It was a deflagration, just like the Hollywood effects. SO no real energy to damage things

[jamescanvin]

Spaceflight Now: Sea Launch vessels set sail for port following explosion.

[nprev]

Well, Odyssey is seaworthy, then, and the article described its condition as "slightly damaged", though the repairs may be beyond the scope of the Long Beach facility. Overall, seems like it could have been much worse. Thanks, James!:)

[Guest_AlexBlackwell_*]

This event got my husband ("space shmace") interested because he's now very worried about the launch of the second DirecTV HD satellite, which he says was to be a SeaLaunch in June or July. He's asking me if the launch date of that satellite is likely to be delayed significantly. I don't know enough to answer his question -- anybody got any insight?

There was this news item in the February 26, 2007, issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology:

News Breaks
Aviation Week & Space Technology
02/26/2007, page 21

Sea Launch says it hopes to return to service later this year and to begin operating its Land Launch derivative from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, in the third quarter of this year, as planned.

In an unusually tense session at the Satellite 2007 conference in Washington last week, customers slammed Sea Launch, Land Launch and the Launch Services Alliance, which is a mutual backup arrangement among Sea Launch, Arianespace and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

James Butterworth, senior vice president of DirecTV Group, which has a satellite on the Sea Launch manifest, said the alliance serves no purpose, because it has not enabled the operator to get a quicker liftoff elsewhere, despite the extra cost to customers. Paul Brown-Kenyon, chief operating officer of Measat Satellite Systems of Malaysia, criticized the company for delays at Land Launch, which is supposed to place its next satellite into orbit. Satellite operators and manufacturers say Land Launch is likely to be delayed a year or more because of manufacturing delays that have affected virtually all Russian launch contractors.

Sea Launch officials were at a loss to explain the irate tone of the session, saying it seemed to be more a question of "personalities," mixed perhaps "with some frustration." They said Land Launch, which has orders for six satellites, is still on schedule for a maiden lifoff in the third quarter, provided Sea Launch is cleared to resume service by then. President/General Manager Robert Peckham said he still had no knowledge of the cause of the January launch pad explosion that took the booster out of service--although some details are beginning to emerge (see p. 17)--or when the inquiry would end. But he predicted the company would be back in time for two or three launches this year.

Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall acknowledged that the launch alliance was more or less a "virtual one" for Arianespace--so far it has only benefited Sea Launch--although he said he hopes this will change. Arianespace last week landed an award to launch SES Americom's AMC-21, previously earmarked for Land Launch in the second quarter of next year. The liftoff had been scheduled for Land Launch, but this was not within the context of the alliance. Le Gall said the Ariane 5 might be available to accept a new payload this year, depending on satellite deliveries. He also confirmed that the Ariane 5 launch rate will rise to seven per year in 2008, following an agreement with EADS Astrium earlier this month, and eight in 2009.

[elakdawalla]

Thanks for this update, Alex. My husband's response:

I find this frightening and confusing. please translate into number of high-def channels I will see.

What details are "beginning to emerge" about the failure?

--Emily

[Guest_AlexBlackwell_*]

What details are "beginning to emerge" about the failure?

From the "In Orbit" section of the same issue:

In Orbit
LOX-system Malfunction Eyed in Sea Launch Blast
Aviation Week & Space Technology
02/26/2007, page 17

Edited by Frank Morring, Jr.

Printed headline: Sea Launch Suffocation

Investigators probing the Jan. 30 explosion of a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL booster are focusing on a possible malfunction in the engine's liquid oxygen (LOX) system. The vehicle's LOX/kerosene RD-170 engine, built by Russia's Energomash, burns oxygen-rich, and the blockage of an oxygen line or pressurization failure in the oxygen system is being evaluated as a potential cause of the accident. Also being studied is the timing of the malfunction in relation to the capabilities of the Zenit's fault protection software. The software is designed to shut down a malfunctioning engine safely even if a problem is detected milliseconds before release from the pad. But if the vehicle is released with a malfunctioning engine, it will drop back on the pad and explode. On Jan. 30 the Sea Launch Zenit exploded on liftoff during an attempt to launch the SES New Skies NSS-8 spacecraft from the Sea Launch Odyssey platform in the Pacific (AW&ST Feb. 5, p. 27). Analysis indicates the Sea Launch vehicle may have climbed only a few inches before it fell back and engulfed the platform in flames. In response to the accident, the U.S. Air Force ordered a two-week delay in the Cape Canaveral launch of a Lockheed Martin/United Launch Alliance Atlas V carrying the STP-1 military technology payload. The Atlas V uses an Energomash RD-180 engine, which is a twin-nozzle version of the four-nozzle RD-170, and the service wants to check for suspect hardware or software commonality in the two engine variants. Originally scheduled for Feb. 23, the STP-1 launch is now planned for a 9:37-11:42 p.m. EST window on Mar. 9.

[Guest_AlexBlackwell_*]

Sorry for resurrecting a dormant thread, but below is a news tidbit from the June 18, 2007, issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology:

Sea Launch has penciled in an October launch date for the Thuraya D3 mobile services satellite for the return to service of the Zenit-3SL booster, following the January launch pad explosion that destroyed the SES New Skies NSS-8 satellite. Sea Launch's Failure Review Oversight Board's final report early this month says metal contaminants in the liquid oxygen turbopump of the first-stage EnergoMash 171M motor caused the explosion. The Sea Launch Commander control ship and Odyssey launch platform were due in Vancouver on June 14 for repairs and maintenance.

See also the related press release from Sea Launch.