MISSION NAME
Foton-M No. 1 1
Status
Failure
DATE
15 OCT 2002
LAUNCH PROVIDER
Russian Space Forces
Launch Pad
43/3 (43L)
Description
Foton-M No.1 was a mission by the European Space Agency aboard a Russian Soyuz-U rocket that failed to launch successfully. The spacecraft's payload consisted of 44 experiments prepared by the European Space Agency, Fluidpac, BIOPAN-4, Telescience Support Unit, and others. Investigation found that the most likely cause of the failure was debris being ingested into the Blok D hydrogen peroxide pump, cutting off the supply of lubricant to the turbopumps. This was the first failure of an R-7 launch vehicle in the first two minutes of launch since 1988.
Soyuz-U-PVB
Rocket Description
A Russian orbital launch vehicle. A version of the Soyuz-U with safety modifications to prevent and resist fires in all stages and the upper stage avionics compartment.