“Sea Launch will continue, assuming there are no political intrigues”

The failure of the Ukrainian-Russian rocket Zenit-3SL that resulted in the loss of the American communication satellite Intelsat-27, which occurred over the Pacific waters on February 1, could have been caused by a malfunction of a unit that had been developed at Yuzhnoye Design Bureau (DB) in Dnipropetrovsk and manufactured by Yuzhmash Production Association, Russian experts are saying after having investigated the circumstances of the Sea Launch failure. By the way, it was the third in the history of the project.

“The focus of our investigation has narrowed to the onboard power source (OPS) block of the first stage [It controls the rocket through controlling vectored thrust nozzles. – Ed.] We are now determining what interfered with its functioning and which unit failed,” the head of the Russian Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia Vitaly Lopota said. According to him, the investigators are now analyzing the rocket’s system functioning, production documentation, and possible reasons for the OPS failure. “Our task is to identify the specific cause of the accident and to develop and implement failure prevention measures, allowing us to continue with Zenit launches and minimize delays,” he said. At the same time, Lopota was quick to disclaim any responsibility for the failure. ”The first-stage engine, produced by the Russian Energomash Scientific Production Association, most definitely had nothing to do with it,” Energia’s head said.

The rocket’s developer Yuzhnoye DB has not commented yet. Its chief press officer Yurii Moshnenko stated that any final conclusions would be premature. “Our task is to determine the exact cause to prevent it from interfering with subsequent launches,” he said.

Meanwhile, the media report that unloading of Zenit-3SLB units at the Baikonur cosmodrome has been suspended. The rocket’s first launch under Land Launch parallel program was scheduled for summer of 2013. The units have been delivered to Kazakhstan from Yuzhmash, the space vehicle’s manufacturer. Now they may have to be returned to Dnipropetrovsk for additional tests.

The world press abounds with sarcastic comments on the failure, including one stating that the Russians and the Ukrainians have sent an American satellite to explore sea depths. Admittedly, this irony is not unfounded. The Russian aerospace industry suffered a string of failed launches recently. Sea Launch was not spared trouble, too, with a Zenit-3SL exploding in the early take-off stage on January 30, 2007, heavily damaging the floating launch site. The Sea Launch consortium then declared bankruptcy. The Russians set about restructuring the business. Previously, the Boeing corporation of the United States was the main shareholder of the company, initially worth 3.5 billion dollars, providing overall direction and funding, while holding 40 percent of its stock. Other shareholders had smaller holdings, including the Russian Energia with 25 percent, the Ukrainian Yuzhnoye DB with 5 percent and Yuzhmash with 10 percent, and the Norwegian shipbuilding company Aker Kvarner with 20 percent. It changed in July 2010, when a court transferred 95 percent of shares to the Cyprus-registered company Energia Overseas Limited, Energia’s subsidiary, leaving just 3 percent to Boeing and 2 percent to Aker Solutions. Both Ukrainian companies were forced to sell off their stakes completely, and, as if it was not enough, Boeing is trying to get the Ukrainian side to reimburse the American company’s costs amounting to 133.4 million dollars. The rejuvenated Sea Launch restarted launches in September 2011. Three space vehicles were successfully launched from the floating platform in 2012. Now, it has suffered another setback, and this time it may be the Ukrainian side that will look for excuses. It comes as no surprise, because the problems that increasingly affect the two nations’ rocket industries are almost identical, including aging technology, equipment and personnel. Energia’s head Lopota who manages the project on behalf of its Russian owners hopes that Zenit’s failure’s costs will be minimal. “Should we quickly found what went wrong, we will go ahead with the launches without any interruption. It is important that we must make this finding not just for ourselves, but that our customers would believe it,” he said.

Meanwhile, director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies’ Dnipropetrovsk branch Anatolii Shevtsov argues that even if the Ukrainian manufacturer will be found to be responsible for the failure, it would be unlikely to affect the overall project. “N1 [the Soviet Moon rocket. – Ed.] suffered four failures before the project was closed in 1974, while our rocket has seen 32 launches in row with only occasional failures. Sea Launch will continue, assuming, of course, there are no political intrigues,” the expert concluded.