Engineers have discovered yet another problem with the Breeze-M upper stage, which stranded a communications satellite in a useless orbit back in August. This time, they found the problem before launch. ILS PR — BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan, December 27, 2011 – The launch of an ILS Proton launch vehicle with the SES-4 satellite was postponed today for approximately 25 days for technical reasons associated with the avionics system of the […]

NASA’s look back at the year that was….

This week on The Space Show with David Livingston… Monday, Dec. 26,2011: 7-9 PM PST: This is our last Open Lines program of the year. Lots to discuss including the recent New Scientist interview with Elon Musk, Orion, the Space Act Agreement instead of the FAR and of course your topics as well. Use the phones. Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011, 7-8:30 PM PST: Tom Olson returns for his annual year […]

ISRO had a successful 2011, launching 8 satellites aboard its PSLV rocket and a communications satellite on Europe’s Ariane 5 vehicle. ISRO’s success this year was aided by the lack of flights of its failure-prone GSLV booster, which crashed during both launch attempts in 2010. The first launch in April crashed after India’s first indigenous cryogenic stage failed to ignite. The second failure occurred on Christmas Day, sending a communications […]

Roscosmos Head Vladimir Popovkin....in happier times

It was supposed to be a joyous pre-Christmas news conference for Roscosmos Head Vladimir Popovkin. A Soyuz spacecraft with three astronauts had arrived at the International Space Station, returning the ISS crew contingent to six and completing the recovery from the Soyuz-Progress accident in August.

Instead, the press wanted to talk about the Soyuz 2.1b rocket that had failed after launch from Plesetsk, destroying the Meridian 5 communications satellite and raining debris down on Siberia. Popovkin minced no words with his answers.

“The space branch is suffering a crisis,” he admitted. “We must resolve this situation and give way to the youth…Perhaps it’s time for reshuffle.”
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Exactly 235 years ago today, George Washington and his Continentals crossed the Delaware River in the teeth of a Nor’easter not far from where I grew up. Their heroism in the days that followed saved the American Revolution from imminent failure. I shall always be grateful for their sacrifices, and strive to live in a way that honors the ideals and principles for which they suffered, fought and died so […]

Video Caption: Ever wonder how Santa makes it around the globe in a single night? This NASA animation finally reveals the secret magic that fuels Santa’s sleigh! In the spring of 2012, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency will conduct tests on board the International Space Station to show how Dextre, the Canadian-built robotic handyman in the video, could refuel and refurbish satellites in space. In the meantime, Dextre would […]

A Global Aerospace ballute performs aerocapture for a lander at Mars (credit: Kees Veenenbos).

WASHINGTON — NASA has selected Airborne Systems North America of Santa Ana, Calif., ILC Dover LP of Frederica, Del., and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company of Littleton, Colo., to support agency inflatable aerodynamic decelerator research and development, including work on the Space Technology Program’s Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) project.

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Communications Satellite Fails to Reach Orbit

A Russian Soyuz-2.1b rocket with a Fregat upper stage failed on Friday, sending the Meridian-5 satellite crashing into the atmosphere over Siberia instead of soaring into orbit. The failure capped off a tough year for Russian rocket launch crews, who have watched seven rockets fail with eight satellites destroyed or stranded in useless orbits since last December.

For those of you just joining us, here’s Russia’s record of failed launches over the last year (reader discretion advised):

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