. 24/7 Space News .
Russia Still Looking For Quick Bird Satellite Fault

an expensive machine being built
Moscow (Interfax) Nov. 25, 2000
Russian specialists cannot yet reach a final conclusion about the reasons behind the fault of the U.S. Quick Bird satellite launched in the small hours of November 21 from the Russian cosmodrome Plesetsk.

An ad hoc commission formed at Plesetsk, having analyzed all technical documentation and the course of the pre-launch routine, has concluded that the teams involved in launching the Kosmos-3M booster rocket with the U.S. satellite aboard performed their duties irreproachably, a source with Russian space circles has told Interfax. The fuelling of the rocket and the pre-launch tests on the control systems were carried out fully in line with prescribed regulations.

Media reports alleging that Quick Bird's docking with the Russian rocket was carried out exclusively by American specialists do not correspond to reality, the source said. All operations were conducted at an assembly test facility jointly by U.S. specialists, experts from Omsk's aerospace company 'Polyot' and representatives from the Russian Strategic Missile Forces.

In the experts' view, the accident occurred after the first spiral due to the incorrect functioning of the flight control system when the Kosmos-3M's second-stage engines were operating. All this happened out of reach of the Russian ground instrumentation control centers' radar.

The spacecraft might have gone into a non-calculated orbit and therefore could not be located by the control instrumentation centers, the experts conjectured. They also said the satellite might have dropped to the ground. Preliminary calculations indicate that, in this case, its fragments could have fallen into the Atlantic near the Brazilian coast.

At the moment, an ad hoc state commission is being formed comprising specialists from the Russian Aerospace Agency and Defense Ministry. The commission is to thoroughly analyze all telemetric information recorded by the ground instrumentation control centers located outside St. Petersburg. In addition, the Russian side has forwarded inquiries to the U.S. centers monitoring Quick Bird's flight with the use of telemetric information.

width=82 height=33>Copyright 2000 Interfax. All rights reserved. The material on this page is provided by Interfax and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Related Links
EarthWatch
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

EO Bird Makes A Quick Exit After Failed Orbital Insertion
Moscow (Interfax) Nov. 21, 2000
The U.S. satellite Quick Bird launched in the early hours of Tuesday entered its orbit but disappeared from the visibility zone of Russian radio equipment and does not respond to the signals sent by Russian ground stations, the Russian Defense Ministry main center for spacecraft testing and control has told Interfax.



Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only














The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.