Science
Related: About this forumParts installed “upside down” caused Russian rocket to explode last week
While America was looking forward to the July 4 holiday, the Russian space program was busy putting the final touches on its latest rocket launch. A Proton-M rocket carrying three satellites for the GLONASS navigation constellation (Russia's answer to GPS) launched on July 2, 2013, at 06:38:22 Moscow Time.
Just one problem: The rocket came crashing back down to Earth at 06:38:54landing in a massive fireball. The crash marked another setback for the beleaguered Russian space program. There were fears that the massive quantity of propellant could leak, potentially creating a very toxic disaster for the local population. And there was no immediate explanation as to why the Proton-M failed so spectacularly, so fast.
But on Tuesday, Anatoly Zak reports on his own site, RussianSpaceWeb.com, that investigators have determined the culprit was the critical angular velocity sensors, DUS, installed upside down.
He writes:
Zak also added that Russian authorities have launched a criminal investigation.
http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/07/parts-installed-upside-down-caused-last-weeks-russian-rocket-to-explode/
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)... holds up while in orbit."
Ouch.
Sirveri
(4,517 posts)Do not rely on literacy or anything else.
JHB
(37,159 posts)...to be "my boss is an ass and my girlfriend just dumped me"-proof.
Even the best can be distracted at the wrong time.
Igel
(35,300 posts)"1. Obtain parts and 2 liters of ethanol from depot.
"2. Use 5 ml of ethanol to clean fittings.
"3. Install parts as instructed.
"4. Consume ethanol.
"5. Return empty bottle to depot for recycling."
Instead he did step 4 immediately after step 2. Dumbass.