Major Proton launch failure

[Person012345]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQAnM-1Ch8Y

This is breaking, I actually just watched it happen on Roscosmos' livefeed. We're not even sure there aren't casualties yet; it came down close to the pad and has extremely nasty propellants. Just terrible...

apparently KSP launch lag is authentic...

[tek_604]

To me, it looks like structural failure on one of the tanks, leading to a loss of pressure in one of the engines. Software tried to compensate, but, failures this early in a launch are usually unrecoverable.

Edit: Just saw xorg's screenie. Awesome

Edited July 2, 2013 by tek_604
Internets awarded to xorg :)

[Canopus]

Agreed. If you look at the exhaust when it tips over, the engines are gimballing around in an exaggerated manner, in the direction of the tip. Hell, it even starts to spin about the vertical axis. I suspect someone screwed up the PID controller and it was overcompensating for wobble.

Maybe it was overcompensating after the rocket was hit by a sideways wind? Just take a looks at 0:15 where the Vehicle is totally of curse.

[Gemberkoekje]

Here's a video without lag:

http://www.nos.nl/video/524850-russische-raket-stort-neer-vlak-na-lancering.html

(Sorry for the Dutch:))

Right on the start there's already an imbalance and a bit of a flicker.

[xorg]

yet another video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jQ_tPm0J2E

[xorg]

Edited July 2, 2013 by xorg
fixed

[NoMrBond]

Looks like an early failure on one of the six RD-275's, the whole things shifts sideways on the other five and it tries to correct, but you can see the unburnt fuel spraying out at 0:32-0:33 in the video

[EvilotionCR2]

The thing that strikes me as odd about the Proton crash is that the Range Safety Officer did not blow the thing up. Or do the Russians not go in for that kind of thing?

Do you want one big rocket falling into one area or much more of small rocket parts falling into multiple areas?

[Shuttle]

If http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/ur500mk.htm came to life, this wouldnt ve happened (qouted you cause I thought you might be interested in it)

Thank you!

http://vz.ru/news/2013/7/2/639574.html

Ã’ ÑÂòþю þчõрõôь üøýøÑÂÑ‚Ñ€ ÿþ çá Úð÷ðхÑÂтðýð Òûðôøüøр Ñþöúþ ÑÂþþñщøû, чтþ ðòðрøѠрðúõты-ýþÑÂøтõûѠÿрþø÷þшûð, ÿþ ÿрõôòðрøтõûьýыü ôðýýыü, ø÷-÷ð þтúð÷ð ôòøóðтõûѠÿõрòþù ÑÂтуÿõýø.

My translation:

The Minister for Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan Vladimir Bozhko said that, according to preliminary data, the accident occurred because of the engine failure of the first stage

[Brotoro]

Do you want one big rocket falling into one area or much more of small rocket parts falling into multiple areas?

Me? I'd rather explode the rocket in the air and let the inert small parts fall down than have the rocket hit as a big bomb. And I especially wouldn't want a wild rocket zipping off horizontally to wreak havoc who knows where. A rocket could get quite a distance after thrusting for 42 seconds.

But it may be that there isn't much of anything around the Russian launch area that they are worried about getting damaged more than they are worried about protecting the launch facilities (unlike the situation around Canaveral where there are towns and such to protect)

[Brotoro]

That video is scary. Something you do NOT want to see is a big out of control rocket backlit by its engine flames.

[jwenting]

It doesn't have boosters. I think this wasn't hardware and more of a software problem.

There's brown smoke coming from one side of the vehicle...

If not boosters, than at least multiple engines in the stage, not all of them working at the same thrust level.

[Boffinbox]

saw it on the news and thought "the forums will be on this"

yeah definitely looked like something out of kerbal, you can see the computer trying it's best to fix where it's going

[Tommygun]

Do you want one big rocket falling into one area or much more of small rocket parts falling into multiple areas?

There is one issue to consider and I'm not familiar with the fuel the Proton uses, but some rocket fuel is very toxic and acidic.

In some situations it may be better to explode the rocket high up and let the fuel burn higher up to minimize exposure to people.

At least with explosives you have a choice to use them or not depending on the situation.

[Gemberkoekje]

According to the wiki, it uses RP1:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RP-1

and Liquid Oxygen.

While you wouldn't want either running about if you can help it, neither is particularly toxic.

[Brotoro]

According to the wiki, it uses RP1:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RP-1

and Liquid Oxygen.

While you wouldn't want either running about if you can help it, neither is particularly toxic.

No. The bottom stages use UDMH and Nitrogen tetroxide.

[Gemberkoekje]

Anyway, I hope the KSP devs are watching, THIS is what should happen if a rocket filled with fuel hits the ground

[Fulbert]

The moment it wobbled off the launchpad I thought they should've used more struts. This usually works for me.

[ThePyrateCaptain]

Nonsense comerade, this was not a rocket failure, more of a missile test.

[The Darkness]

My thought process when I seen this video.

Holy Crap

Should of hit (T) instead of (F)

I hope everyone is okay

Nuclear Fuel? Haven't they learned anything from Chernobyl ?

I bet there is a forum thread on this already.

[Canopus]

My thought process when I seen this video.

Holy Crap

Should of hit (T) instead of (F)

I hope everyone is okay

Nuclear Fuel? Haven't they learned anything from Chernobyl ?

I bet there is a forum thread on this already.

Nothing Nuclear on this launch.

[Dive]

Another perspective

[Flixxbeatz]

Another perspective

-snip-

My ears almost started bleeding.

[jwenting]

Nothing Nuclear on this launch.

and no nuclear fuel to the rocket ever. Earlier variants of the Glanos satellites have RTGs to provide electricity, a reporter mistakenly assumed that those were loaded and started a rumour that massive nuclear fallout was resulting from the crash.

[Rune]

Looks like an early failure on one of the six RD-275's, the whole things shifts sideways on the other five and it tries to correct, but you can see the unburnt fuel spraying out at 0:32-0:33 in the video

Yup, that's my first assessment of this thing with only a crappy video to go about it. You see it start veering off and the engines gimbal like crazy just as a plume of unburnt fuel appears next to one of the engines. I'm going with RUD in an engine, perhaps on the trubopumps/injectors, which would explain the plume of fuel, the other engines going crazy to compensate, and in the end a very bad day for the russian launch industry. We'll see what the investigation uncovers, but my money is on quality control.

Also, I started thinking "there should be a thread on this on the KSP forums already, right?"... and of course, 8 pages of it.

Rune. Love you all geeks!