Foton-M1
Encyclopedia
Foton-M1 was an unmanned space mission by the European Space Agency
aboard a Russian Soyuz-U
rocket that failed to launch successfully. The rocket's payload consisted of 44 experiments prepared by the European Space Agency, Fluidpac, Biopan, Telescience Support Unit, and others. The mission was supposed to consist of 15 days spent in orbit of the Earth and then re-enter for a landing near the Russia-Kazakhstan
border.
The launch occurred at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome
on October 15, 2002 at 18:20. The launch
failed after one of the rocket's five engines did not start, resulting in an unstable flight plan. Approximately fifteen seconds after lift-off, the rocket fell back to the launch pad
and exploded. The explosion killed 20-year-old soldier Ivan Marchenko, who had been watching the launch from behind a large glass window in a processing facility a kilometre from the launch pad. Eight other soldiers who were with Marchenko were injured, six being hospitalized. Rocket fragments fell in the woods in the same area starting a forest fire, and a Block D strap-on booster which came off during disintegration impacted the launch pad, causing structural damage. The rocket and all its experimental payload were a complete loss.
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
aboard a Russian Soyuz-U
Soyuz-U
The Soyuz-U launch vehicle is an improved version of the original Soyuz LV. Soyuz-U is part of the R-7 family of rockets based on the R-7 Semyorka missile. Members of this rocket family were designed by the TsSKB design bureau and constructed at the Progress Factory in Samara, Russia....
rocket that failed to launch successfully. The rocket's payload consisted of 44 experiments prepared by the European Space Agency, Fluidpac, Biopan, Telescience Support Unit, and others. The mission was supposed to consist of 15 days spent in orbit of the Earth and then re-enter for a landing near the Russia-Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
border.
The launch occurred at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Plesetsk Cosmodrome is a Russian spaceport, located in Arkhangelsk Oblast, about 800 km north of Moscow and approximately 200 km south of Arkhangelsk.-Overview:...
on October 15, 2002 at 18:20. The launch
Rocket launch
A rocket launch is the takeoff phase of the flight of a rocket. Launches for orbital spaceflights, or launches into interplanetary space, are usually from a fixed location on the ground, but may also be from a floating platform such as the San Marco platform, or the Sea Launch launch...
failed after one of the rocket's five engines did not start, resulting in an unstable flight plan. Approximately fifteen seconds after lift-off, the rocket fell back to the launch pad
Launch pad
A launch pad is the area and facilities where rockets or spacecraft lift off. A spaceport can contain one or many launch pads. A typical launch pad consists of the service and umbilical structures. The service structure provides an access platform to inspect the launch vehicle prior to launch....
and exploded. The explosion killed 20-year-old soldier Ivan Marchenko, who had been watching the launch from behind a large glass window in a processing facility a kilometre from the launch pad. Eight other soldiers who were with Marchenko were injured, six being hospitalized. Rocket fragments fell in the woods in the same area starting a forest fire, and a Block D strap-on booster which came off during disintegration impacted the launch pad, causing structural damage. The rocket and all its experimental payload were a complete loss.