**Sea Launch FAILURE Live Update Pages with NEW images**<\/em> \u2013 190,000 reads since failure.<\/p>\n **Exclusive, multi angle videos of the explosion**<\/font><\/em> Free to all forum members (registration is free \u2013 we do not use your e-mail for spam, only to send you your forum password \u2013 which is automated).<\/font> Section includes previous Sea Launch videos: <\/em> <\/font>Sea Launch \u2013 XM-4 \u2013 Oct 30 and Sea Launch \u2013 Koreasat 5 \u2013 Aug 22.<\/em><\/p>\n 300 Megabytes of exclusive super hi res images of the failure, from several angles, and the platform after the accident available on L2<\/font>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Space tourism guides (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n Several dockyards were linked with the role of replacing the flame deflector, which is a unique part of the Launch Platform, so much so engineers had to dig out its blueprints ahead of the replacement\u2019s fabrication. Thailand and San Diego were in line to receive the Odyssey. However, the initial frontrunner, Vancouver<\/font>, has now been noted as her destination early next month.<\/p>\n A test of the cable mast \u2013 which contains wires and connector cables that provide an electrical umbilical to the rocket \u2013 demonstrated its integrity for mission operation recently, along with the return to operations of Odyssey\u2019s crane, aiding the cleaning up process on the platform. <\/p>\n The final release of findings is expected \u2018soon\u2019 \u2013 although the amount of detail that will be released is unknown. However, as to the exact cause of the failure, Russian and Ukrainian companies involved with Sea Launch\u2019s Zenit 3SL have already been playing the media game, which led to the brazen headline in the Russian media that the cause of the accident was \u2018engine failure\u2019, which infuriated some officials.<\/p>\n Source information points firmly at the engine not being at fault for the failure, rather \u2018improper assembly\u2019 at NPO-Yuzhnoye facility in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, leading to the loose bolt in the LOX tank, which broke free, eventually being sucked into the turbomachinary at engine start. This either caused damage to the engine, or engine shutdown, ultimately causing the vehicle to fall through the launch pad, where it exploded on the flame deflector. <\/p>\n In fact, the lack of blame associated with the RD-171 has been known for some months, and played a part in allowing the United Launch Alliance (ULA) to press ahead with their Atlas V launch with STP-1 in March<\/font>. Atlas was stood down in the aftermath<\/font> of the Sea Launch failure due to commonality between Atlas\u2019 RD-180 and the Zenit 3SL\u2019s RD-171. <\/p>\n Sea Launch are ultimately trying to return to flight action in the latter part of this year, with the launch of the Thuraya 3 satellite. The 5250 kg Thuraya-3 satellite will be the third in the range to have been carried by Sea Launch. It is hoped that the investigation will at least outline improved work practises, which would in turn aid confidence in a speedy return to flight. <\/p>\n The multi-national company has already suffered heavily from the launch failure, with several contracts switching <\/font>to one of their main competitors, Arianespace. <\/p>\n EchoStar Communications have also recently noted that they are \u2018evaluating their options\u2019 in regards to their EchoStar XI satellite, which was set to lift-off via Sea Launch this year. However, they are believed to be supportive of Sea Launch, after two previous successful launches with the company \u2013 EchoStar IX in 2003 and EchoStar X in 2006.<\/p>\n EchoStar recently signed a deal<\/font> with another rival, ILS (International Launch Services) for an as yet unnamed satellite launch, believed to be for EchoStar 13 (a.k.a CMBStar) or the EchoStar 14 satellite. ILS \u2013 when questioned \u2013 refused to name which satellite was involved.<\/p>\n Also being evaluated is the launch of the DirectTV 11 satellite, which is also manifested with Sea Launch. DirectTV are monitoring Sea Launch\u2019s efforts in returning to flight, in the hope they won\u2019t see the launch of the Boeing 702 Model Satellite delayed by too large a degree, claiming it is too early to predict. <\/p>\n \u2018With the DirecTV 10 satellite scheduled to launch in June aboard a Proton rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, we\u2019re moving forward with our plans to roll out more HD (High Definition) channels this year,\u2019 a DirecTV statement noted. <\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s too early to predict how long the Sea Launch rocket failure will delay the D11 launch. However, we have a flexible, robust fleet of satellites and a variety of options available to us to continue our national and local HD rollout.\u2019<\/p>\n **INFINITY: 10 minute STS MUSIC VIDEO**<\/font><\/em><\/font> \u2013 **NASASpaceflight.com Job Opportunities**<\/em><\/font> <\/font><\/em><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In what is a key stage of Sea Launch\u2019s return to flight plans, the refurbished Odyssey Launch Platform will head to Vancouver, where special engineering work will be carried out on replacing the flame deflector that was blown off during January\u2019s launch failure. The explosion of the Zenit 3SL, carrying the NSS-8 communications satellite for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41729"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41729\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Cosmetic and engineer work has been conducted on Odyssey whilst on dock at Sea Launch\u2019s Home Port in Long Beach, California. <\/p>\n
<\/font><\/p>\n
<\/em><\/font><\/em><\/p>\n