spacetoday.net: Proton launch fails

Posted: Sat, Mar 15, 2008, 9:25 AM ET (1325 GMT)
Proton launch of Thor 5 (ILS)

A Proton launch of commercial communications satellite failed early Saturday when the rocket's upper stage shut down prematurely, stranding the satellite in a transfer orbit. The Proton M lifted off on schedule at 7:18 pm EDT Friday (2318 GMT Friday, 5:18 am local time Saturday), carrying the AMC-14 satellite for SES Americom. International Launch Services (ILS) announced early Saturday an "anomaly" with the Breeze M upper stage, which apparently failed during its second burn. The spacecraft is stranded in an elliptical transfer orbit with an apogee of about 28,000 km, short of geosynchronous orbit. The failure appears similar to one that took place two years ago, when Arabsat 4A was stuck in a transfer orbit after its Breeze M upper stage failed; that satellite was later deorbited. The failure comes only six months after another Proton launch failed when its second stage failed to ignite, a problem that was quickly determined and corrected. The failure is likely to put more stress on the commercial launch market, which has encountered higher prices caused by increased demand and constrained supply in the last couple years.