The malfunction of a Russian Proton rocket launch last November is unlikely to affect Sea Launch’s procedures and launch schedule, according to a Failure Review Oversight Board (FROB). Sea Launch’s Zenit-3SL rockets have a similar Block DM upper stage to the one that malfunctioned on the Proton during the Nov. 26 attempted launch of an Astra 1 K satellite by International Launch Services (ILS).

The Sea Launch board concluded that six of the seven corrective actions recommended by the Russian State Commission that investigated the Block DM problem have either been implemented or do not apply to Sea Launch’s rockets. One of Sea Launch’s partners, Russia’s RSC Energia, supplies the Block DM upper stage to both Sea Launch and ILS.

Although the Sea Launch board has not yet issued its findings, company officials are encouraged by its preliminary conclusions. “This reinforces our confidence in our systems integration and decision-making processes that have led to Sea Launch’s excellent record with the Zenit-3SL,” said Kirk Pysher, Sea Launch’s chief systems engineer and chairman of the review board. Sea Launch is a joint venture of RSC Energia, Boeing [BA], Norway’s Kvaerner, and Ukraine’s SDO Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash.

Engine Contamination

In the aftermath of the Proton launch failure, the Russian State Commission reported that it found problems with engine components of Proton’s Block DM upper stage made by RSC Energia subcontractor Voronezh Mechanical Works.

The Russian commission found no other problems with the three-stage Proton vehicle built by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, a partner in ILS along with Lockheed Martin [LMT]. The commission attributed the failure to contamination in engine components of the Block DM upper stage. The fuel used in the Block DM, a synthetic kerosene known as syntin developed by Energia, was tested before launch as part of normal pre-flight processing, as well as after the launch. The fuel met Russian government specifications.

The anomaly with the faulty upper stage occurred at the start of the second Block DM main engine burn. Excessive fuel was in the main engine when it ignited and caused extraordinarily high temperatures that destroyed the engine, the Russian commission found.

The commission did not find any evidence to support speculation that the contamination was tied to the fuel, said Eric Laursen, ILS’ chief engineer and chairman of the ILS launch failure review board.

“The failure was the result of particle contamination in the engine that could have affected it at any time in its flight,” Laursen said. “We are going to take however much time is needed to be certain that the problem is corrected in both new and existing hardware, before we fly another Block DM.”

As a result of the Proton failure, ILS had to delay the launch of an Alcatel Space-built AMC 9 satellite for Princeton, N.J.-based SES Americom. No new date has been set for that launch, Laursen said. ILS and SES Americom, a unit of SES Global, are discussing options. The satellite remains with its manufacturer in France.

If SES Americom and Alcatel opt to use a different ILS launch vehicle to limit the delay, the switch could take a few weeks to a couple of months to put in place, Laursen said. The most likely alternative would be a Proton rocket with a Breeze M upper stage, but the launch contract also allows for the use of ILS’ Atlas rockets.

Monica Morgan, vice president of corporate communications at SES Americom, said her company has so far not approved a change in launch vehicle. The investigation of the Block DM upper stage malfunction is continuing and all the alternatives remain under consideration.

Reports from Russia that the Breeze M upper stage would be used for the launch of the AMC 9, instead of the Proton Block DM upper stage, were denied by officials from SES and ILS.

Since the AMC 9 was scheduled for launch last month, SES Americom officials would like the spacecraft to be launched as soon as possible. “We recognize, however, that there are constraints,” Morgan said.

The AMC 9 would be deployed at the 72 degrees West orbital slot to serve the U.S. market. The hybrid satellite has 24 C-band transponders and 24 Ku-band transponders, all at 36 MHz.

Laursen stressed that it is important not to launch a Proton rocket with the Block DM upper stage until the cause of the failure is fully understood and corrective actions have been implemented. He noted that a Proton with a Breeze M upper stage flew successfully on Dec. 30, and a similar vehicle could be used while the Block DM investigation continues.

Proton rockets have a long track record, with 298 launches and a 96 percent success rate, Laursen said. The Block DM upper stage has a historical success rate of over 94 percent in more than 220 missions.

The Proton with the Breeze M upper stage that ILS plans to use for future missions has flown successfully in both prior attempts. The Breeze M upper stage also has flown without incident on other Russian vehicles, ILS officials said.

The Proton with the Breeze M upper stage uses storable solid propellants rather than the liquid oxygen and kerosene propellants of the Block DM, Laursen said. “The Breeze M can carry a significantly greater payload mass into geo-transfer orbit,” he added.

ILS launchers using the Breeze M upper stage will be competing with the troubled Ariane 5 and the Delta 4, as well as Sea Launch’s Zenit-3SL.

–Paul Dykewicz

(Paula Korn, Sea Launch, 562/499-4700; Eric Laursen, ILS, 571/633-7400; Monica Morgan, SES Americom, 609/987-4143; Roger Rusch, TelAstra, 310/373-1925)