Hi Kerbals, Last friday VS09 Soyouz mission for two Galileo satellites ended with a degraded orbit due to a malfunctioning of the fregat stage. The targeted orbit was circular, inclined at 55 degrees with a semi major axis of 29,900 kilometers. The satellites are now in an elliptical orbit, with excentricity of 0.23, a semi major axis of 26,200 km and inclined at 49.8 degrees. http://www.arianespace.com/images/launch-kits/launch-kit-pdf-frn/VS09-launchkit-FR.pdf http://www.arianespace.com/news-press-release/2014/8-23-2014.asp Apparently the 2nd fregat boost occurred at the right place for the right duration but could have been in the wrong direction (error of 145°?!) One of the hypothesis is a GNC or programming error. Dear Kerbals, your mission, if you accept, is to simulate the malfunctioning of the fregat to confirm that a boost in the wrong direction could have lead to the degraded orbit reached. I think that the Soyouz is available in a dedicated mod. Good luck !
